


Stalwart Affinity

by Harmonious



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-06
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2017-12-25 18:47:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 71,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/956467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Harmonious/pseuds/Harmonious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Without Ultear and Jellal, Meredy is left to fulfill their guild's purposes on her own. However, reality sinks in and she finds herself losing the will to live, until she becomes connected with a certain silver-haired ice mage. || Takes place after the Grand Magic Games Arc ||</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Gate

They had been fighting for a few moments, then and there. Various enemies from the dark guild dropped nearly dead on the floor, defeated through combined power of two cloaked figures.

Both of them, especially the cloaked figure with pink hair, Meredy, was prepared for it; this was the purpose of their guild, Crime Sorciere, after all.

However, no amount of preparation could allow her to handle the situation she was currently facing.

While they managed to overthrow all the members of the dark guild they faced, this one obstacle, which both of them did not expect, still remained.

As she stood from the ground, she faced with widened eyes the scenery before her: Jellal was within large barrier, created seemingly by the gigantic, black gate behind him.

Jellal was trapped.

Abruptly, she cried, "Maguilty Rays!" causing several yellow blades to fly towards the barrier. White smoke formed from the spots struck by the rays, but not a scratch was produced from the impact.

"Maguilty Sodom!" Meredy casted, which then caused short, teal blades to be produced from within her, which then hit the barrier once more. However, the efforts were still futile.

Meredy was panicking. She continued her attempts to break it, from casting more of her rays to even throwing a rock at it. Still, none were effective. The barrier was really sturdy.

She even attempted approaching the fallen enemies, desperate to find a clue to deactivate the barrier. Badly beaten, they found it hard to utter clear words; however, the bottom line was: none of them knew.

She approached the barrier, towards her blue-haired guild mate's spot. She wasn't prepared for this, but she needed to get him out of there.

Jellal on the other hand found the scene ironic. If he was in no serious situation, he would have laughed. He was once again isolated, trapped within a cell, only it wasn't the steel walls embedded with lacrima. Seeing his guild mate, he approached Meredy as well.

"Jellal, don't worry! I'll find something!" she said, faking an optimistic tone. She displayed a toothy grin as well, but the corners of her lips were trembling. When they broke Jellal out of prison, it was mostly Ultear's doing, but now that she was gone…

"Meredy, listen," Jellal finally spoke, facing the pink-haired girl, "get out of here quickly." He lifted his hand forward until it was stopped by the solid, translucent screen, effectively separating the two of them. He scoured his hand through the barrier and sensed it; no simple magic would allow him to break through it. He looked at the gate looming meters behind him. The majestic gate was opened; in it appeared a dimension towards the unknown, which appeared to be black nothingness. He sensed it would only take a few minutes before the magic on the gate would start taking effect. And he knew it wasn't good.

"No, Jellal! I'm not leaving without you!" she screamed back, tears forming around the corner of her eyes. She clenched her fists tightly, fingers digging onto her palms, and started striking them on the barrier. "W-we'll find something! I'm s-sure there's some way to break this…"

He closed his eyes, shaking his head. "Meredy, no. Run away."

Meredy thought he was being ridiculous. She quickly turned her head away from him and ceased hitting the barrier. "No, Jellal! You're the only one I have now!" All of the sudden, a pink glow emitted from her wrist, and then, a similarly hued projectile from above hit Jellal's own. Tears started streaming down her face. "If this is what it takes, no matter what happens to you, I want it to happen to me as well!"

Looking at the pink seal on his hand, Jellal clicked his tongue. It was Sensory Link. "Meredy, you…"

"Please, Jellal… I don't want… to be alone again…" she whispered, wiping her face with her sealed hand.

Suddenly, Jellal's eyes widened and shifted his eyes from his sealed wrist to the barrier above. _"Wait, how could it pass through-? Could it be?_ " He glanced at the person in front of him, who still wasn't showing any intention of going away. He then felt a strong force slowly absorbing him from behind; at the same time, he could feel it absorbing his magical power. He turned his head back to the gate. _"Shit, it's starting... There's no time left…"_

Meredy sensed it too, as she felt an unknown force pulling herself and her magical power. Unlike Jellal, however, she was behind the barrier and would be able to escape easily.

"Meredy," Jellal said, as he lifted his hand once more, touching the surface of the barrier, "remember what Ultear said?"

Upon the mention of that name, Meredy enlarged her tear-filled eyes towards him.

"'Carry on my spirit,"' he said, recalling the final words of the letter addressed to them. He noticed the twitch on her shoulders upon saying them.

"'And continue to fight,'" she finished. She momentarily recalled the old lady that sent them the letter; the memory left her quietly sobbing once more.

He nodded, as a thin smile formed on his lips. Just then, the surge of the force became stronger; Jellal took one step back and shifted his weight.

Snapping back from the flashback of her memories, Meredy felt alarmed with his action. Again, she hit the barrier with her palms. "But Jellal, what about you..?"

"Don't worry about me. I'll…find something. But I can't risk you getting hurt, so you should go." He took another step backwards. "Go to Fairy Tail. Tell them what we discovered here. They'll be able to help in getting to the root of this, I know it."

Tears began dwelling once more on her eyes. "But…"

"Release Sensory Link, and go," he said, attempting to have a stern tone. However, tears also began flowing from his face due to their connected emotions.

He cursed inwardly. He felt her fear, the possibility of being alone. He knew Meredy's past; he knew the tragedy that befell on her before Ultear took her in. She did not want to be alone, which is why she reacted that way when Ultear said her goodbyes. Her fear was overpowering his emotions, which was filled with doubt at that moment. He cursed again; he had to fight her emotions.

He had to be stronger.

He thought of Erza.

Erza, who didn't give up on him despite all the things that he had done.

Erza, who had served as his inspiration to stand up and fight once more.

Erza, his light.

He roughly wiped his tears and faced her again. The force became stronger twofold, their capes now wildly flapping towards the direction of the gate. "I SAID, GO, NOW!"

Upon hearing the shift in Jellal's voice, Meredy snapped back to her senses and noticed the serious expression on his face. Because of Sensory Link, she felt it too; there resided a tinge of newly-found strong will. She wiped her tears as well.

He closed his eyes, clenching his fists. "Continue to fight, Meredy. Do it for me, for Ultear," he paused, and then opening his eyes, "for Crime Sorciere."

She looked at him and saw the unwavering glint in his brown eyes. Finally, she nodded and turned her back, running away. For one last time, she turned her head back. Seeing he was still standing with strong will, she finally released her spell, causing the seals from their wrists to disappear. She also felt it; she sensed his doubts, but she also felt his determination, growing stronger by the moment. She faced forward and forced herself to run faster, farther away from the gate. "Be safe, Jellal…"

Upon grasping that her Sensory Link has dispersed, he watched her retreating form. Sighing in relief, he smiled faintly. While he did find the determination to fight his current obstacle, he was unsure of the outcomes. "Farewell, Meredy, and forgive me, because we may not see each other again…"

Jellal then faced the gate; the force was getting more resilient by the second. He then looked back at the spot where Meredy was fleeing, making sure that she was already beyond the reach of the spell he was about to cast. As he felt the force absorbing more of his power, he realized that it could not wait any longer. He closed his eyes, and briefly, an image of a smiling scarlet-haired woman flashed on his mind. "Erza, thank you, and I'm sorry too…and farewell."

Immediately, he bowed down and pointed his hands downwards. Slowly, he began to motion his right arm until it pointed upwards, which then caused the formation of dark, circling clouds above the area. At the same time, the force pulling him became intensely stronger, which was already starting to pull Jellal from his spot. Not wasting his time and intending to strike the gate immediately from above, he casted: "True Heavenly Body Magic: Sema!"

Then, a large, dark explosion erupted from the area. Meredy, who was still running away, felt an immense wave of gust behind her which caused her to trip and be pushed roughly towards the ground. Fatigue and emotional stress taking over her, she was unable to lift herself and remained prone, her eyelids becoming heavier. Trembling, she weakly clutched the dirt on her palms. "Jellal… Ultear…" And she then lost consciousness.

As the heavy smoke cleared from the spot of the explosion, the dark gate was no longer found, and so was Jellal.


	2. Explosion

A train from Oshibana station was on its way towards Clover town. Among the many passengers that day was a certain silver-haired ice mage, who was watching the scenery of mountains from the train's window.

Three hours had passed since Lyon accepted the mission. It was a job requesting for a certain plant found in Hibiscus forest. It was a special type of flower which only grows into a small bud in normal temperatures, but would bloom under extremely low temperatures. It was a pretty simple mission and could be accomplished using his magic, so he decided to go alone. The only downside was it was several towns and villages away from Lamia Scale's guild house. The village and forest of Hibiscus wasn't also easily accessible so he needed to walk from the nearest train station. It was bothersome for Lyon, but he just kept in mind that he'd be awarded with decent amount of jewels. " _Three times the pay of the usual short-term jobs I take, it isn't pretty bad_ ," he thought.

As the train passed over a bridge, going over a river, Lyon knew that he was near his destination. He started fixing his belongings and prepared to go off the train.

Stepping away from the station, he observed his surroundings. Clover town was a venue known as a meeting place for masters of legal guilds. He momentarily recalled Jura telling him about a time when a troublesome incident regarding Fairy Tail and that meeting house happened a long time ago. But when did Fairy Tail  _not_  cause trouble? Lyon chuckled to himself.

Situated in a mountainous area, a cool breeze was felt every now and then at the place, pleasing Lyon. He had always preferred cool places due to the nature of his magic.

He then figured that he should start walking towards the forest near the town so that he'd finish the mission immediately, but decided to buy a snack first along the way. He settled with a half pack of bread loaves.

While nibbling bread, he took out his map and started navigating his way towards the forest. Apparently, he had to go through Clover forest, pass through a valley, walk through another forest and arrive at Hibiscus village. The village wasn't even his destination, the forest beside it was. Lyon sighed, but resumed walking anyway.

Almost two hours had passed, and apparently he was still at the Clover forest. He looked at his magical compass and it didn't appear to be malfunctioning. "This forest is so goddamn large," he complained. Scratching his head, he drank from his water bottle and continued walking. Soon, he reached a vast valley.

"Finally, at least I'm here. Just another forest and I'll reach the village," he spoke to himself. It had proven to be a pretty boring mission for Lyon too; there wasn't much to see in the huge forest and there was this plain old valley. He noted that it was also getting dark, so he had to keep moving to at least reach Hibiscus village.

He screened the valley, and apparently there were three forests bordering it. Standing at the middle of the valley, he noted that behind him was Clover forest; to his east was the river; west was an unknown forest. Going north was moving closer to his destination.

"North it is," he stated. He then shook his head and laughed. Here he was, talking to himself. He hated to admit it, but he did miss the company of his teammates Toby, Sherry, and Yuka.

He started heading north when he heard a loud explosion from the west. Feeling also a gust of wind towards the source, he immediately turned his head west and his eyes widened upon seeing a massive smoke cloud from the sky. He found himself turning towards the source, curious and alarmed at the same time.

"Ice-Make: Wings!" he casted, growing ice wings from his back. " _Why haven't I thought about using this earlier…"_ he told himself, but then he thought he'd still be tired either way.

Flying up the sky from the valley, he decided to survey the situation from above. He gasped at what he saw. While it was quite hard to see what actually happened due to the setting of the sun, in addition to the smoke which was still clearing, Lyon was definitely sure that a huge crater formed on that area. He descended back to the valley and broke off his ice spell.

"Shit… Whatever that was, I'm sure that isn't supposed to be there," he said, clearly bothered with what he witnessed. He decided against his better judgement and ran west, momentarily forgetting about his mission. He wouldn't be able to complete the mission within the day anyway, he thought, since the train didn't operate at midnight. It would be hard to search for a plant in the dark too.

He decided against using his ice wings to quickly go through the source, as he didn't know whatever magical force or creature lay at the crater. He wasn't even supposed to be there. He chose to go through the woods stealthily, carefully yet quickly moving through as possible.

On his way, he felt someone chattering and coming closer, so hid himself behind a tree. He attempted to minimize his magical presence too.

"Good thing we escaped, I knew those hooded bastards were too strong, anyway," squeaked a man with a high-pitched voice.

"Yeah, I know. Good thing we weren't caught in that explosion too. We'd be definitely dead meat," replied another one, who had a much lower tone.

"Have you seen Hotclaw and the others, though? I think I saw them fleeing too."

"I'm not sure, but I just want to go home now…"

And their voices faded. Whatever that was, Lyon deduced that the explosion had something to do with those 'hooded bastards.'

Seeing that it was highly probable that he wasn't alone, he moved more quietly through the woods. He glanced at his compass, continuing to move forward towards west.

He hoped that this situation didn't have anything to do with dark guilds, but he highly suspected that it did. He could only hope.


	3. Rescue

Right in the middle of the forest, a cloaked figure remained lying on the ground. The figure lightly twitched; she could smell the soil beside her face, and she could feel some small rocks grazing her cheeks. Gently, she opened her heavy eyes, and tried to raise her head, causing the hood to expose her pink hair.

" _Did I pass out?"_  she asked herself. She felt her head throbbing, but Jellal's words started echoing in her mind. She struggled to stand, but her body felt heavy. It appeared that the force absorbing the magical power drained her more than she had thought; even the second origin of her magical energy felt sapped. She could only bring her legs to a kneeling position, with her hands supporting her weight to keep herself from falling forward.

All of the sudden, she heard voices, as well as the ruffling of bushes. Meredy froze.  _"Oh no, this isn't good…"_ She sensed them coming closer, and she lifted one hand to cover her head with her hood. She maintained her head in a lowered position, with an intention of concealing her face.

Then, the footsteps suddenly stopped. For a while, all she perceived were the breeze of the night and the shuffling of the trees. Nevertheless, as if their main intention was to break the silence of the evening, she heard a horde of boisterous laughter. Meredy took a deep breath, bracing herself.

"Hooooh? What do we have here?" one voice said. Meredy could hear him coming closer. She subconsciously gripped the dirt on her palms tighter.

"Hey, man, whatcha think ya doin'? Don't ya see the cloak? It's one of 'them!'" another one mentioned, whose voice arose from a higher source. She deduced that he must've been on the trees.

"Why are you chickening out, Cherron? He can hardly stand! It's our chance to avenge the guild!" the third voice argued. He seemed to be behind the first person who spoke. Sweat started dripping on Meredy's forehead.

"I thought ya want nothin' to do with Portico Dusk anymore, Bade? Isn't that why we ran away?" the man named Cherron spat back.

"Don't be an idiot, Cherron! It's our opportunity! If we kill this bastard, boss might promote us!" Bade replied, the tone of annoyance apparent on his voice.

Then, the boots of the man in front of her were within her field of vision. "Oy, why aren't you saying anything? Not so powerful now, huh? The 'gate' must've hit you hard," said the first man, who then chuckled darkly. Upon the mention of the gate, Meredy opened her mouth in surprise.

"You know about the—ack!" was all Meredy could say as she felt a muscular arm yank her by the neck and easily lifted her from the ground. She brought her hands to the arm, trying to break free.

"Hoooh, so you're a woman after all?" The man gave her a lecherous stare.

Cherron, a thin, blond man, then jumped off the tree, taking a closer look. "Hey, an' she looks pretty hot too!"

"Changed your mind now, Cherron?" Bade, who was wearing a hat and had dark skin, sniggered. He walked beside the man suffocating her. "I don't really care, as long as we get to kill her in the end. What should we do, Hotclaw?"

Hotclaw, who didn't lessen his grip around her neck, answered, "Oh, we'll have some fun with her, first."

"L-let…g-go…" Meredy sputtered. She tried to resist, but her strength hasn't fully recovered. But she didn't have a choice, she could at least try. With all that's left, she casted, "S…S-sensory Link!" which then caused two similarly pattern seals appear on her and Hotclaw's wrist.

Stunned that she still had the capacity to cast a spell, Hotclaw tried to further constrict his grasp, but suddenly found himself out of breath as well, causing him to drop her on the surface. While catching her breath as well, Meredy took it as the opportunity to distance herself from him but was intercepted by a person behind her.

"Where do ya think ya goin', babe?" Cherron whispered to her ear. Meredy winced. He then grabbed both her arms to her back, and she found her upper limbs being bound by vines.

"Wh-what?" Meredy stuttered, looking at the bundles of vines which started to go around her waist as well.

"Vine magic's mah specialty. The best there is in Portico Dusk." He then chortled and took it as the opportunity to slide his hands under her cape and held her bare shoulders. He sensually rubbed them and snorted even more.

"Y-you're disgusting!" Meredy spat, her blood running cold. She had to do something, but she couldn't recklessly use her remaining magic power.

"And my, my, ya too have some ample brea—" but before he could touch her further, they were startled by a loud outburst.

"'THE HELL IS HAPPENING TO ME? WHY CAN'T I MOVE MY ARMS? AND WHO THE HELL IS TOUCHING ME?" In front of them, Hotclaw was going mad. Bade and Cherron were dumbfounded, but Meredy could only chuckle.

"Whatever you do to me happens also to him," Meredy stated a matter-of-factly. Smirking at the momentary looks of disgust on the men's faces, she used it as the opportunity to transfer her own Sensory Link to Cherron—connecting him and Hotclaw—and kicked him hard on the groin. Both men wailed in pain and immediately dropped to the ground. Her trunk and upper limbs still tied by vines, she attempted to run from the area once more but realized there was one more enemy, who blocked her way again.

"I don't care whether you're a woman or not, but you're not going away!" Bade loudly exclaimed.

Meredy then took leap back, and swivelled her body, which triggered her body to glow. "Maguilty Beam!"

Subsequently, a several light pink lasers spurted out of her trunk, hitting Bade to the ground and cutting off the vines around her. Being able to move much more freely, Meredy sprinted from the scene but suddenly found herself frozen in the middle of her stance. Meredy furrowed her brows. "What now…?"

"Body Restriction magic," Bade hooted darkly, standing up and wiping the blood from his face. Picking up his fallen hat, he staggered his way closer to her, "With your body paralyzed, you won't be getting anywhere... Gahahahaha!"

Meredy gulped. The beams took a large amount of her remaining magic power. Attempting to conserve the miniscule power left, she reluctantly released the Sensory Link between Hotclaw and Cherron. A few seconds later, Bade was already in front of her.

"As I've mentioned earlier, I have no interest in doing anything but to kill you," he said straightforwardly, "but there's no fun in killing you right away. Guess I have to torture you until Hotclaw's okay."

Meredy bit her lip as she saw a blade right at her face. "W-w-w…" She silently cursed. Her mouth was paralyzed too.

Bade heard her attempts. "You wanna speak eh? Nah," He then drew the knife closer to her cheek, the tip of it about a hair away from her face. "Although, it wouldn't be fun if no noise comes out of you." With a snap of a finger, Meredy felt the tone of her facial muscles decreasing.

Eyeing the blade close to her, Meredy scowled. "You…"

Seeing the expression in her face, Bade laughed. "What's with that look on your face? You should even thank me." Bringing down his knife, he began circling around her unmoving form. "Tell you what. Let's talk for a while. I think it's getting boring around here."

She made no attempts to answer, seeing no point to it at all. However, Bade wasn't pleased, and lifted the silver blade towards her face again, but this time, grazing her cheek. A drop of blood came out, making Meredy to whimper.

"Why are you so quiet all of the sudden? You wanted to speak right? So do it now!"

Meredy's eye twitched, feeling the sting of pain. "T-then… Why don't you tell me about the Dark Gate?"

"The Dark Gate?" Bade raised an eyebrow, "Ahahaha! So that's what would get you to speak. I do know something, but I don't see why I should tell you." Seeing her scowl again, Bade smirked. "You poor little girl. Alright, but only when you say, 'please,'" he added with malice in his voice. He raised his blade again.

Her ego didn't want to, but she was getting desperate, "Please…"

"See? Now that's a good girl," Bade said, mockingly patting her head. "All I know is that it's Portico Dusk's secret weapon, and I've heard that it was a magic borrowed from another dark guild. That's it."

Meredy's eyes widened. " _Another dark guild? Who could it be?_ " she pondered. "B-but wait, do you know about—"

"And now you're talking too much. I'm getting annoyed." With a snap of his finger, she felt her facial muscles stiffen again. Meredy cringed inwardly. This man was really cruel.

A voice from beneath the trees alarmed them. "Oy, Bade! What are ya doing, getting friendly with that bitch? Thought ya weren't interested." Bade turned around and saw Cherron followed by Hotclaw, who both appeared to be in pain.

"That's what I get from successfully catching her, you ungrateful scums?" Bade howled back.

"Hoooh, you used body restriction? Good, good, now she wouldn't get away…" Hotclaw lewdly said, and slowly grabbed her cape.

Meredy trembled again, mixed with disgust and fear this time. She closed her eyes; she was out of ideas. She could try connecting the four of them through a Spread Sensory Link, thereby paralyzing all of them and forcing Bade to release his spell which may give her an opening to flee, but she doubted that she had enough energy to sustain the link between all of them. Meredy's line of thought was disrupted when she felt something burning near her. Her cape was on fire!

"This is getting in the way, kehehe!" Hotclaw said, burning the end of her cape. Meredy could hear dark giggles from his companions. "Don't worry, I'll just burn your clothes. That's what you get for being a bad, baaaaad, little bitch."

"Meanwhile, I'll be pullin' this off!" Cherron said, staring lasciviously at her chest. Meredy tried resisting, but her entire body was still paralyzed. She squinted her eyes, vision being blurred due to tears forming. From the stressful event she encountered with Jellal earlier, now,  _this_. Why were these series of unfortunate events happening to her? Was she really going to die? Everything around her became slower that instance; she felt the heat slowly consuming whatever remains in her coat, and through her hazy vision, she saw two sluggishly hands moving too dangerously close to her personal space.  _"No… I don't want to die yet… Ultear... Someone… Help…"_

As if her prayers were answered, she felt as though time itself paused. She was startled when she no longer felt the heat behind her. The hands in front of her stopped too, though she herself still wasn't able to move. Everything felt surreal.

" _Everything…stopped…? Ultear, is it really you...?"_ Despite being in her paralyzed state, Meredy found herself crying again. However, everything seemed to be back to reality when she heard another person's voice.

"What are you doing? Run!" commanded the male voice. It was coming from her left side, near the trees. He sounded familiar, but she couldn't pinpoint who.

Unable to turn her head, Meredy tried to speak, "C-can't…M-move…" So it seems the hold of the restriction magic lessened since she could somehow speak. Blinking her tears away, she realized that apparently time didn't stop. She found that Cherron was actually frozen in ice.

The owner of the male voice heard well enough. "Whose magic did that to you?"

"M-man…with…h-hat…" she answered back. Ice magic? Someone she knew who used that type of magic was Gray, but she was pretty sure that wasn't his voice.

"Ice-Make: Eagle!" she heard him say, causing several ice eagles to come crashing through Bade. The impact threw Bade to a nearby tree, hitting the trunk.

"Gah!" Bade spat blood due to the impact. Startled, he looked for the source but was overwhelmed by a sudden punch on his stomach, causing him to lose consciousness.

As he plunged to the ground, Meredy felt control over her body once more. She quickly turned around to see who save her, and saw a spiky silver-haired mage. "You're…"

"Now isn't the time for chitchat. Let's—" he wasn't able to finish his sentence when they both were alarmed by a sudden outrage, causing also what seems to be a bonfire. Hotclaw was on fire.

"HOOOH! You think some measly shitty ice could kill me? My fire is stronger! STRONGER!" Motioning his arms forward, spouts of flame plunged out of Hotclaw's fists towards the ice mage.

"You're annoying," the ice user merely replied. Before the fire could touch him, he created an ice incantation as one fisted hand hit the other opened palm. "Ice-Make: Shield!"

A barrier of ice formed, effectively blocking him from the flames.

"PUNK! I don't know who the hell you are, but you're pissing me off!" Hotclaw crossed his arms forward, furiously chattering, "This is already over! Flaming Falcon Blaze!" Consequently, an enormous flame shaped like a falcon emerged from his arms. The flapping wings caused several nearby leaves to burn.

"You don't know who I am?" Before he struck his palm to cast a spell, he immediately shed off his upper garments, confusing both Hotclaw and Meredy.

"Wh-why is he stripping?" Meredy, who was resting on the ground, stammered. She was clearly disturbed at what she's witnessing.

Hotclaw quickly recovered. "I don't know what the hell you're playing at, but be prepared to be melted by my flames! HOOOOH! FALCON, GO!" The fire falcon plummeted towards the ice mage.

But before the falcon reached him, he chanted a spell just on time: "Ice-Make: Lion!" And a frozen lion much more massive than the falcon engulfed it, effectively extinguishing the flames.

Smoke was produced due to the contact of both elements, hazing the vision of Hotclaw. He was caught off guard when the ice lion made its way towards him, fiercely assaulting him to the ground.

"Remember that name. Lyon." The ice mage said proudly, approaching the fallen fire mage. The impact from the attack caused half of Hotclaw's head to be dug to the soil. When Hotclaw didn't move any further, Lyon approached the blond one who was still frozen in ice. He noticed that he had a lascivious facial expression, along with hands positioned as if intending to grab something hungrily. Disgusted, Lyon turned away and broke the spell. Shards of ice broke from the body, and the man fell unconscious, undoubtedly frostbitten.

"'Lyon…" Meredy mused, and then sighted the guild mark of Lamia Scale on his chest. "Oh, that 'Lyon!'" she exclaimed. No wonder he was familiar. She recalled fighting alongside him against the dragons at the Grand Magic Games. The surge of memories from that incident paused when she sensed Lyon coming closer.

"Now that everything here is settled," Lyon started speaking, not wasting any time, "would you mind telling me what happened here?"

Meredy looked at the man standing before her. She knew he wasn't a foe, so there weren't any room for doubts. She nodded. "Of course. By the way, I'm—"

"You're Meredy. I know who you are," he mentioned without any apparent emotion.

A bit startled with the revelation, Meredy looked at him, pushing her thin eyebrows together; he appeared to have a stern expression on his face, but at that moment, she noticed him reaching out his hand towards her. Gawking at the outstretched hand, she then found her eyes travelling upwards towards his bare trunk. Suddenly realizing what she was doing, Meredy flushed and shook her head, taking his hand, which prompted him to aid her in standing on her feet. "B-but before anything else, I would like to thank you first," she expressed sincerely, shaking off her embarrassment. He didn't seem to notice it, much to Meredy's relief.

"It's nothing, I needed a warm up anyway," he said, shrugging his shoulders, "We better get going too before these guys wake up." He started walking away. Meredy nodded and followed him. She noticed something again, and felt her cheeks heating up. She hesitated at first, but she decided that she needed to tell him.

"Um, by the way, would you please wear your shirt first?"


	4. Indebt

"Wait, why are we going there?" Meredy questioned, walking behind Lyon. While it was true that it was already dark and the only source of light they had was Lyon's lacrima-powered lamp, she knew that they were heading back towards the gate, the place Jellal told her to run away from.

"I saw the explosion," he replied without turning his head towards her, "Why was there even an explosion in the first place?"

Meredy lowered her head. "I wish I knew too, but it's something both Jellal and I didn't foresee."

"Let me get this straight; so the two of you were battling a dark guild, as usual, and after defeating everyone, the gate appeared out of nowhere, separated the two of you, and this Jellal asked you to leave him?" he said. He didn't know why, but it felt as if something was wrong with the story. As if something (or someone?) was missing.

She muffled a "mmhm," in response, feelings of sadness returning when she recalled leaving her guild mate behind. "And the gate brought out a strong force which sapped our magic power. Honestly, I still feel really drained right now."

Then she found herself bumping onto something firm, yet not entirely hard. It was Lyon's back; he stopped in his tracks. She rubbed her bruised nose.

"Hey, why did you—"

But she was at loss for words as he was when she saw the setting before her. On the large field, where she had previously fought with Portico Dusk, nothing was left—not even a single body—but a massive crater. From what she had recollected, the dark gate was previously located at the radius of the crater, which was the deepest portion of the hollow. She frantically ran past Lyon, going over the area.

"Jellal! Jellal!" but she heard nothing. "Jellal…!" she felt her knees going weak. "Where are you…?" she said faintly, and then fell on her knees, her body lightly shaking. She felt her tears rising once more, but a firm hand fell on her shoulder. She turned her head and came face-to-face with the ice mage.

"Clearly, this place is deserted, but we can't be too sure about the surrounding areas," Lyon said, eyeing the trees from the forest, "And it's dark; it's best if we leave."

She could only find herself nodding, feebly standing up once more. Lyon guided her back to the forest, leading the way like before. This time though, he kept a closer distance to her, aware that she may fall down any minute.

Both were silent as they walked past the many trees and bushes. Lyon found himself slightly turning his head, looking at his companion at the corner of his eye. He couldn't see her face clearly as she had her head lowered.

" _This Meredy…"_  he thought. He was well aware that she was a fugitive, but as he scanned at the dejected form beside him, all he saw was a girl—sad, battered, and exhausted. He almost couldn't believe that she was once a criminal, a member of the dark guild Grimiore Heart. He assumed that she must've gone through a lot of change considering she was in a guild aiming to defeat those dark guilds,  _Crime Sorcière_. Jura spoke to him about the guild before. From what he learned, it had three members—Jellal Fernandes, the ex-councillor; Meredy, this girl; and…

"Ultear," he whispered. That was it. That's why he felt something was wrong. "Hey, where's Ultear?" he asked, fully facing her now. He lifted his lamp closer to her to illuminate her face more.

But upon the mention of that name, Meredy stopped walking, which confused Lyon. He stopped walking as well.

"Hey," he asked, already discomfited, "you okay?" He reached his hand forward in an attempt to tap her shoulder, but was startled when she finally lifted her head, showing her tearful face. Waterfalls of tears were streaming down her face, mixing with the dirt and blood on her flushed cheeks. Lyon creased his eyebrows; it was one of the most pitiful sights he had ever seen. He froze on his spot; he didn't know what to do. He was never really the comforting type.

"I, I—" she started saying weakly, but she suddenly stumbled side wards, plummeting to the ground. However, Lyon quickly caught her, consequently dropping the lamp on the dry soil.

"Shit," he swore quietly, shaking her shoulders. "Hey, wake up!" There was no response, but she was still breathing. He held her wrist and felt a weak pulse. He knew it was bound to happen sooner, but he couldn't help but think that it also had something to do with what he said. He knew there was probably a reason why Ultear wasn't there. He felt a hint of guilt.

Lyon gently placed her on the ground, leaning her back on the tree. A part of him was saying that he should leave her behind, since he was still on an entirely different mission after all, and that she was still a fugitive, no matter what circumstances. However, his conscience countered that he couldn't just leave her there, considering that she didn't even have enough power to fight the three goons earlier. It also didn't help that they were still within the vicinity of where they left the trio, and he couldn't risk fighting them again.

Cursing again, he finally made up his mind on what to do. "Ice-Make: Wings!"

The next thing Meredy knew, a cold brush of air was hitting her face. She opened her eyes gradually, and saw the cobalt blue skies of the night. It was a cloudless evening.

"Good to see that you're finally awake," she heard a voice. Shifting her head, she realized that Lyon was carrying her in his arms, and they were soaring in the skies through his ice wings. She attempted to shift her position, much to Lyon's dismay.

"Stop moving," he said irritatingly, tightening his grip around her shoulder, "unless you want me to drop you from this height?"

She finally stopped. "You've already done a lot for me," she softly exclaimed, "let's go back to the ground, please?"

Lyon looked at her first and found himself complying, gradually descending to the ground. They landed beside the river on the large valley. Lyon bent his body forward to let Meredy stand on her feet.

"Clean yourself up," he voiced coolly, "You're a mess." He sat on the grass and fumbled through his knapsack. He brought out his lamp, turning it on, illuminating their surroundings enough.

She nodded slightly, going by the riverside. She splashed water on her face, feeling the prickling pain on her cheek caused by Bade's blade. Ignoring it, she continued cleaning her face, rubbing away the smudge of dirt and blood. Moments later, she found herself moving back towards Lyon, who was munching over a piece of bread. He offered one to her, but she shook her head lightly. He simply shrugged and continued eating.

Lyon glanced over the sky. It didn't look like the sun was going to rise any sooner. He searched for his pocket watch in his bag and confirmed the time; 12:15AM. He thought they may as well rest. He looked over his companion, who was sitting while hugging her knees. Similar before, she had her head lowered.

"You aren't very talkative, are you," was what he wanted to say, but suddenly recalled all the mishaps she had been through earlier. When he finally decided to just shut up, she began speaking.

"Ur is gone," she said forlornly, without lifting her head to face him.

Upon hearing the name of his teacher, his eyebrows creased. "Of course she's gone, that's a long time ago," was what he thought to say, but not after hearing what she had to say next.

"After the Grand Magic Games, I never got to see her again. She only left a letter bidding farewell. Jellal was the only family I had left," she continued without having a second thought.

Lyon almost slapped himself upon grasping his mistake. Of course the "Ur" she was talking about the daughter of his teacher, Ultear. He realized that she was actually answering his question before she passed out. He suddenly lost his appetite.

"You know, maybe if she was still with us, none of this would have happened. Jellal would have still been with us," she muttered weakly, voice and shoulders trembling, "But she's not, and I'm just not strong enough…"

" _Shit_." Lyon gritted his teeth. At this rate, he felt that she was again on the verge of crying. He hated handling crying people—much more girls—though from his experience, he could make a crying Chelia stop by taking her out for ice cream (though he really was unsure if it was only because it was  _him_  taking  _her_  out for something or she simply liked the treat). Currently, the problem was, he knew next to nothing about Meredy.

As if reading his mind all along, she said, "Don't worry, I won't cry anymore," much to Lyon's relief. She took a deep breath, and finally raised her head. "I'm too tired." She forced a sad smile; seeing this, the corner of Lyon's mouth twitched.

"What do you plan to do now?" he asked, without looking away.

"Jellal instructed me to go to Fairy Tail and tell them everything. He believes they can help."

"I see, Fairy Tail, huh." He silently agreed with Jellal's choice; he hated to admit it, but Fairy Tail was a strong and reliable guild, who had plenty of powerful mages. Though he had to confess, a part of his pride was hurt; he would much prefer hearing her asking help from his guild instead.

She continued, eyeing the grass swaying from the night's breeze. "But after that, honestly, I have no idea what I'll do. Of course, I'll be aiding Fairy Tail in discovering the other secrets of Portico Dusk, but I still have to keep my distance from them. I wouldn't want to trouble their master." She started drawing circles on the ground with her finger. "But the bigger picture is, I'm not even sure if Jellal is coming back after everything is over." She then paused, saying the next words with a softer voice. "I have no one to return home to."

"Then join Lamia Scale," was what he wanted to say, but knew it wouldn't be that easy. She was a wanted person, and her joining the Lamia Scale would taint its name, or heck, even any other legal guilds like Fairy Tail, should she be found out. He was at loss for words.

"Not only that, I'm not confident that I would be able serve Crime Sorcière's purpose." She stopped drawing circles and took a deep breath. "Defeating dark guilds? On my own? I couldn't even defeat three dark mages by myself."

Lyon clicked his tongue. "You're underestimating yourself. You didn't have your full power that time. You were exhausted."

Meredy presented a small smile. "Heh, you're too kind. But when I think about it, fighting dark guilds by myself sounds silly. It's like a suicide mission. I'm no Jellal or Ur. I would only bring shame to the guild if I just get defeated in the end."

He did not know how to reply to that. He couldn't really argue that taking on dark guilds alone was crazy.

Seeing his flabbergasted expression, Meredy couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Enough about me now." She showed that small smile that didn't reach her ears. "What brought you here?"

Lyon looked away. He was really bothered by Meredy's circumstance. And that smile, he disliked it; he felt it was fake. "I'm on a job. I need to find something. It just so happens that the location of that object is near this place." He viewed her again. She actually appeared to be listening intently. "You were lucky."

"Yes, indeed I am." She smiled faintly again. "If it wasn't for you, I might be dead right now."

Hearing those words, Lyon somehow doubted that she fully meant what she had said. She was devastated earlier, now she's actually thankful for living? Shrugging the thought of, he simply said, "Yeah."

"So what is this object that you need to find?" she inquired, curiosity seen in her eyes.

"It's a special type of flower which apparently bloomed only under extremely low temperatures." He looked up at the corner of his eye, recalling the details of the job. "There wasn't a name nor was there any description of the flower, but the requestor said it could be found in Hibiscus forest. I figured I should just freeze just about any single flower I see there and look if there's any that had any blooming effect."

Meredy sweatdropped. "You should have at least researched a bit.'

Lyon simply looked away and crossed his arms, letting out an annoyed huff.

Meredy stifled a giggle, and then pointed a finger to her chin. "Hmm, but a 'flower that blooms under extremely low temperatures…'" She shut her eyes, thinking deeply. "I think I recall Ultear telling me a story about a flower with the same description."

He looked back. "Really?"

Meredy giggled again. "Yes, Ice-Make is Ultear's original magic after all, just like you."

Lyon mentally slapped himself, an image of his mentor, Ur, flashing on his mind. " _Of course, how could I have not made that connection?"_

Meredy smiled again. "Would you allow me to help you out? It's the least I could do for everything that you did for me."

He watched her sceptically; he noticed that her smiles were becoming wider, bit by bit. It somehow pleased Lyon. He then considered her offer. He'd be lying if he said there wasn't a part of him not wanting to associate himself with a fugitive, but when he saw the hopeful gleam in her bright green eyes, he couldn't find himself refusing her. "Fair enough. We'll start moving immediately when the sun rises." He somewhat empathized with her too; similar to her, he was at the wrong side before. Why not give her a chance as well?

He fumbled through his bag again and then threw a plastic with bread onto her lap.

"And since you're coming with me, you should at least regain your energy. I don't want you passing out again." He saw her blink several times before commanding, "Eat."

Meredy shifted her eyes from the bread, then to Lyon, then back to the bread. For one last time, she looked at Lyon. He looked serious. She muffled a giggle once more. "Yes, sir."


	5. Search

When Lyon noticed the first orange hues tinting the sky, he proceeded to pack his belongings inside his rucksack. He looked over at Meredy; she was lying on the grass with her back facing him.

Earlier, after she finished eating about four loaves (she still left one for him, perhaps she was being modest, he thought), Lyon instructed her to rest and told her he would be on watch. She protested at first, but he managed to convince her by reminding her that she probably hasn't recharged her magic power. He offered his bag for her to lay her head on, but she politely declined, taking off her seared cape and folded it, turning it into a makeshift pillow. She then laid down, facing the river.

Truthfully, Lyon was unsure whether she was sleeping the whole time or not, but when he saw the rise and fall of her shoulders, he was at least at ease with the regular rhythm of her breathing. At least he had nothing to worry about. Both stayed quiet for the rest of the night.

Lyon found his eyes travelling to her bare upper back, which was concealed by the cape earlier. In between her shoulder blades, he saw the emblem of her guild,  _Crime Sorcière_. He wanted to take a closer look, but some of her pink hair was masking it. He resisted the urge to stand up and gather her hair towards one side.

Unbeknownst to Lyon, Meredy was actually awake the whole time. She had her eyes focused on the streams of the river, envisioning the memories associated with a body of water.

" _Ur! Ur! Look, water, water!" A 10-year old Meredy gleefully exclaimed, immediately jumping on the pond. It was only ankle-deep, so Meredy was able to freely skip around in circles._

" _Be careful," Ultear reminded her and moved by the edge of the pond. "And I thought I told you never to call me that again?"_

_Meredy sat down, waddling her hands on the water. "Huh? But why?"_

_Ultear gave her a small smile. "I'll tell you when you get older. You'll understand by then."_

" _That sucks!" She crossed her arms, pouting._

_The time mage couldn't help but laugh. "'That sucks?' Now where did you learn that?" She started removing her footwear, stepping on the pond as well. "From Zancrow, is it?"_

" _Yup!" Meredy glanced towards Ultear, and then displayed a toothy grin. She held out her pinky finger. "But it's okay, as long as you still promise to tell me!"_

" _Of course, I promise," she replied, giving back a sincere smile as well. She bent down on Meredy's level and then curled her pinky finger onto the child's, sealing their promise._

" _Yey!" Meredy wrapped her tiny arms around Ultear, surprising the dark-haired woman. "I love you very much, Ultear!"_

" _Sheesh, you're really such a big kid." Placing her hand onto the pink-haired girl's body, Ultear closed her eyes, smiling. "I love you too, Meredy."_

The characters from the scenery then changed; Meredy grew taller, and Ultear was replaced by another woman with blue hair—Juvia.

" _I live for the one's I love!" The water mage screamed, tears flowing down her eyes, "You've got to, as well! If you have love in your life, then you must keep on living!"_

_Meredy found herself crying too, contemplating on Juvia's words. Their battle ended as both of them fell on their backs on the water at the same time…_

…causing the vision of the memory to shatter. Immediately after, Meredy was reoriented back to reality when she heard a distinct male voice.

"Hey," Lyon said from behind her. She turned around and saw him standing a few feet away from her. "Let's get going. He gestured his head towards the sky. It was gradually becoming brighter, orange colours overlapping the dark blue ones.

Meredy nodded in response and quickly sat up, wrapping her tattered cape around her shoulders once more. Lyon's brows wrinkled when he noticed that her worn-out cape barely covered the middle of her back, which he probably didn't detect earlier since it was too dark. If it wasn't for her hair, her guild mark would already be peeking from behind, for the whole world to see. Normally there was really nothing wrong with showing emblem of a guild. It was the symbol of their pride and loyalty to their group, after all. However, Meredy was a special case; while Crime Sorcière had good intentions, the fact that its members were once wanted criminals could not be erased. At that moment, that emblem shouted Meredy's identity, which, if discovered by someone else, wouldn't be good for both of them. Lyon frowned inwardly.

"Well, I'm ready," the girl said, looking at her companion. Her voice softened when she saw the serious look on his face "…let's go?"

"Wait." His look was still unwavering, and Meredy felt her heart striking in panic when she saw him removing his blue mantle.

" _Wait are you stripping again_ —?" she felt her mind ask before the mantle was shoved onto her face. "Wha?"

"Your guild mark." He then gestured to his own back. He saw a wave of understanding in Meredy's face as she touched her own, realizing that it really was exposed. "Take this."

Meredy waved her hands in front of her. "No, no! That won't be necessary! I could just let my hair down, see?" She removed her pony tail, allowing the hair to fall down under her shoulders.

The expression of his face remained unchanged. While her hair was indeed long enough to cover her until the middle of her back, he was still unconvinced. "We can't risk it. If somebody else sees…" When he saw the sceptical look on her face, he reluctantly said the next words. He didn't want to say it, but he was left with no choice. "Look, we're not the only ones who could be affected here. The name of my guild is on the line too."

A look of surprise washed over Meredy's face, followed by a look of shame as she lowered her head. "Oh, yes. I'm still a criminal, after all. My apologies; that was very selfish of me…" She took the mantle from his hand and draped it over her shoulders, effectively covering her back.

"That..." Uncomfortable, Lyon looked away, "that wasn't what I meant…"

"No, it's okay, it's okay." She closed her eyes and forced a smile. "It is the truth anyway. Let's go, then?"

Lyon finally looked at her and nodded awkwardly. They started walking north towards the forest. Neither spoke another word.

The travel wasn't as far as they had expected, and about 20 minutes later, they already reached Hibiscus Village. It was a pretty small village with no more than ten wooden cabins.

"Looks like we're here in the village." Lyon surveyed the place. "Want to grab something to eat?"

She replied a "mmhm" and they approached a nearby fruit stand. Various fruits were organized and piled per box. Both decided that they'll settle for an apple individually.

As Lyon reached for his bag to obtain some jewels, he remembered Meredy. "So, will you be able to…?"

Meredy showed a small smile, and then slightly turned her body towards the right. She patted on something at the back of her waist; it was a small pouch bag. "Don't worry. I have some jewels left here. I'll be able to pay."

After they handed the necessary jewels, they headed immediately to Hibiscus Forest as they munched on their newly bought apples.

"Do you happen to recall any significant details about the flower?" Lyon asked, looking over the forest for any sort of flower.

"If I'm not mistaken," the pink-haired mage scrunched her eyes shut, "'Colours are vibrant, rarely have a scent,' and the last detail, 'blooms much beautifully when touched with a frosty wind,' or something like that."

Lyon eyed the dismal green surroundings. "Well, we could easily see something 'vibrantly' coloured here. Everything here looks pretty dull."

She could not help but nod in response. "That's true, but where exactly could they be? We've been already walking around here yet we haven't seen a single—" Meredy stopped just in time to see Lyon halting on his tracks, not wanting to repeat the nose-hurting incident before. " _He should at least warn me when he stops like this_ ," she thought vexingly as she walked beside him.

Her eyes then widened at the sight before them.

Before them, a field, albeit small, was rich with various differently coloured flowers, a great contrast to the dull-coloured trees surrounding them. The sun was already angled high above the sky, its rays aiding in enhancing the elegance of each flower further.

"It's…beautiful." Meredy could only gape, eyes sparkling.

"I know," Lyon replied, a tone mixed with confidence and excitement apparent in his voice.

Then, a sound of something hitting the ground caught Meredy's attention.

Lyon was kneeling on the floor, with the palms of his hands on the ground. The soil he was touching was slowly being covered in ice.

"Wait! What are you doing—?!" Before she could stop him, a path of ice quickly emerged towards one bush, which then froze when the ice reached it; Meredy could only watch in horror. "Are you crazy?!" she loudly exclaimed, moving towards the frozen bush.

"You're overreacting," he exasperatingly retorted, as he walked towards the bush as well.

"Look, it's, it's frozen!" She ran her hands on the bush's icy surface. "How are we supposed to see them bloom if they're frozen solid?"

Lyon merely shrugged. "I'll just have to release the spell, then." He touched the bush, and slowly, it returned to its original state and colour…

…except the leaves and flowers wilted.

Meredy crossed her arms, tapping a finger on her arm and showing him a see-what-you-did look.

Lyon coughed awkwardly, a bit ashamed. "Well, at least that's one type of flower off the list."

"But don't do it again!" Meredy exclaimed frantically. "You'll end up killing all of the flowers here!"

"Hmph, fine, what should I do, then?" The ice mage faced her, crossing his arms as well.

"Don't you have a milder ice spell?" She responded, and then her eyes widened, remembering something. "Also, didn't you say that it only stays into a bud or something under normal temperatures? How about you target just the flower buds, instead of the already fully grown ones?"

Lyon contemplated on what she said. True enough, he really should keep in mind the damage control; he didn't want to be compared to the likes of Fairy Tail in that regard. A thought then surged in his mind. "You," he pointed at Meredy, who looked a bit startled with him. "I need an extra pair of eyes with what I'm about to do."

Before she could question him any further, he squeezed his eyes shut and slammed his palms together, an ice transmutation appearing before him. Subsequently, his hands glowed cyan. "Ice-Make: Butterfly!"

Then, a vast number of ice butterflies withdrew from his hands, soaring towards the bushes. Then, each one landed on a bud. Meredy was left speechless, seeing another stunning sight before her.

He tapped her shoulder. "Now, go over each of the flower buds landed on by the butterflies, and see if there's any development whatsoever. I'll take the plants on the left; you take the right."

Impressed, she nodded energetically and pranced to the right side. The pair went over each bud carefully. For about five minutes, none of them said anything.

"See anything yet?" Lyon inquired, already at the fourth bush. He still needed to go over about ten more.

Meredy shook her head. "I'm afraid not," as she was still at her side's third bush. Moments passed and none of them spoke of any good news.

"I'm already at the last bush," Meredy said disheartened. "I still don't see anything. You think maybe the coldness isn't enough this time?"

Lyon wrinkled his brow; he was also at his last flower bush. This job wasn't really as easy as he thought. "Maybe. Should I double the butterflies, then?"

"Wait," the pink-haired girl said suddenly, "Look at this!"

Lyon approached her and looked at what she pointed at. Interestingly enough, on a single flower, there were two butterflies.

"Nothing is really happening though, similar to the other flowers," Meredy stated, taking a closer look. From her peripheral vision, she perceived that Lyon did the same thing as well. She slightly rotated her head to see Lyon's face more or less an inch away from her. She felt her face heating a bit due to the close proximity, and chose to turn back to the flower in an attempt to cool herself instead.

Abruptly, Lyon grabbed the flower stem, much to Meredy's surprise. Consequently, the butterflies from around them also shattered into ice bits, earning a twitch from the unprepared girl. She then looked back to Lyon, who appeared to be concentrating on the flower. Suddenly realizing what he was about to do, Meredy seized Lyon's hand.

"Wait. You're going to do it again, right?" she questioned him, still clutching his hand. A flash of the wilted bush entered her mind. "Are you sure? This is the only flower which is different… Don't you think we should be more cautious in handling it?"

With all the words that Meredy uttered, she only found him responding with a firm stare, along with a nod. Nothing really left to reply, she could only nod back.

Immediately after seeing her approval, Lyon let out his spell, slowly shrouding the flower with ice from the stem up to the bud. When it was completely frozen, they waited for several seconds before Lyon broke the spell, allowing the plant to return to its original colour.

Meredy stared at the flower nervously, a part of her anticipating that the flower would wilt as well. Beside her, Lyon was gazing at it too, though the expression of his determined face remained unchanged.

To Meredy's amazement and slight confusion, the flower did not wilt after being subjected to the extreme temperature. Then, she saw the two ice butterflies (apparently, they didn't shatter earlier, she thought) and landed on the flower bud.

And that was when the magic happened.

A few seconds after contact with the ice butterflies, the flower bud slowly opened, revealing a hue of blue and magenta on the petals. The flower continued blooming, displaying further its vibrant shades. The butterflies continued flapping their wings, which were giving off tiny ice bits that fell on the petals, further amplifying its beauty through the sparkle it emitted.

"This is…" Meredy started, her eyes glistening with admiration, "…wonderful."

Lyon finally changed the expression of his face; this time, smiling contentedly. "It's exactly because it's only flower showing a different reaction that I'm sure of it."

Meredy was astonished with his resolve, somehow admiring his boldness. She could only smile in response, shifting her eyes back to the flower, which further widened her smile.

It was probably the truest smile he had seen from her so far. Though he wouldn't admit it openly, it definitely pleased Lyon.

They stayed like that minutes later, appreciating what they see. But Lyon found that he needed to say something then.

"Now that we finally found this, will you please let go of my hand?"

A yelp was heard from Meredy as she pulled her hand away. "S-sorry!"

Lyon could only laugh at her embarrassment.


	6. Treehouse

Meredy held a cylindrical glass container and raised it towards the sky, admiring the beauty residing within it. Within the cylinder was the flower, which was still glistening its effervescent colours. "It's really beautiful. Just looking at it really makes me feel refreshed," Meredy said with awe.

They already began heading south, currently at the forest between Hibiscus Village and the valley.

"Too bad for you, though. I need to give that to my client in exchange for my reward." Lyon smirked. He saw how she faked a pout, making him smirk even further.

"That's really too bad," she uttered while releasing a sigh. "If you don't mind me asking," she started saying as she brought the glass cylinder down at waist level, "who is your client? I wonder what he'll do with something like this."

"Actually, I really don't know as well. The job request didn't have the name of my client; just his address. He also didn't require me to meet with him beforehand, stating that all the necessary information were already written there." He glanced at what she held between her fingers. "That container you're holding came along with the job request. Apparently it would keep that flower in top condition until we reach his place."

Meredy raised an eyebrow, passing the glass cylinder to Lyon, who then placed it inside his rucksack. "Weren't you afraid that this might just be a ruse?"

"I've considered that, but I've asked someone about the address." The ice mage turned his head towards her. "You know Jura-san, right?"

"Of course," she said confidently, then raising one finger, "Jura Neekis of Lamia Scale, one of the ten wizard saints."

Lyon nodded, affirming her knowledge. "So yeah, I asked Jura-san about it. He actually looked quite baffled when he first read the address, but assured me afterwards that the job was definitely valid."

"He didn't tell you who it was from?"

"No, he told me that the client probably had a reason why he didn't want to reveal himself yet. He said I should just see him for myself when I finish this mission." Lyon placed a hand on his chin, contemplating. "For some reason, I think he's a very important person, though."

"Perhaps he is," Meredy replied, giving him a small smile. They finally arrived at the valley.

Lyon brought out his map and compass, going through the locations. "From here, we just need to go south towards Clover Forest again, so we'll be back at Clover Town. From there, it's a 20-minute walking distance from my client's house." Lyon faced her again, "What about you, though? Are you still coming with me, or are you going to ride the train to Magnolia already?"

Meredy didn't reply immediately, as if it was something she hadn't really thought of yet. She fiddled her fingers, looking on the ground. "If, if I'm not really a bother to you, I really don't mind coming along to your client's house…" She raised her head, displaying a small grin at him. "Besides, I still have your mantle. I could return it to you after we visit your client, then I could buy my own when we're back at Clover Town!"

Lyon showed her a doubtful look at first. He couldn't convince himself to point out that she could actually just buy a new mantle the time they arrive Clover Town, _before_  even going to his client's place. Beneath her grinning façade, Lyon sensed that she was hiding something. Was it fear? Even though he was, again, bothered by it, he decided it wasn't the time to question her at the moment. "I'm fine with it. Let's go, then?" He started walking again.

Meredy, on the other hand, nodded happily and followed after him. They walked until they were at the edge of the valley, in front of the trees of Clover Forest.

Just then, Meredy was startled when she heard Lyon casted, "Ice-Make: Eagle!"

But instead of the numerous eagles that attacked Hotclaw before, a rather enormous ice eagle emerged from his hands, large enough for two people to ride it. Lyon hopped onto it.

"I assume you also went through this huge-ass forest before. I don't know about you, but I'm not really up to walking through it again." He reached out his hand to her. "So are you up to it?"

From the ice creature, she turned her head towards the forest. It was true, it was a tiring walk; she even recalled thinking if they were already lost, though she probably did not bother herself much since Jellal just kept walking back then. But then she looked at the ice eagle before him. There wasn't even a saddle or something, and considering that she was wearing a short dress (with not-so thick fabric too), she could even die of frostbite.

"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing the uncertain look on her face.

Meredy looked away in embarrassment. "Sorry if it sounds imposing, but don't you have something to at least cover the bare ice? I don't think I can..." She slightly pulled the fabric of her dress down, trying to make him realize her problem.

Lyon raised a thin eyebrow. "Oh,  _that._ You can sit on me, then."

"WHAT?!" Her face immediately turned red. No matter what position she thought, all of them turned out compromising.

He sneered at her reaction. "Just kidding."

She was about to lash out something at him, but was rendered speechless when she saw him doffing his tunic, exposing his naked trunk. At that moment, the colour of her face was even more vibrant than the pinkness of her hair. She saw him folding the clothing, and then placing it behind him.

"This is the most that I could do," he said with a straight face, "Either this, or you could just walk."

Her face still flushed, she glanced back at the forest. To be honest, she didn't really want to walk there again, especially considering that she would be going through it alone. That's the thing that she was trying to avoid most. Justifying that it was the most convenient decision to make, she said with a tone of hesitance, "Alright, I'll go with you." She took his hand, and hopped on the spot behind him.

"It'll still be cold, mind you," he mentioned with that same smirk before, "Just bear with it for a while."

"N-no kidding," she stuttered, already feeling the coldness on her hips and buttocks beneath Lyon's folded tunic.

The ice eagle then started flapping its wings, ascending through the skies. "Hold on tight."

In actuality, Meredy didn't really need to be commanded as she found herself already flinging her arms onto his bare waist due to the increasing velocity of the ride.

Plus the icy feeling beneath her.

Plus the breeze from the wind.

Meredy could only hope that it would be over soon.

Lyon could only laugh to himself, feeling her clatter behind him. Since ice was his element, he had a higher tolerance for low temperatures. It was also thanks to Ur that he developed that skill due to her training sessions. He couldn't really blame Meredy for being like that; he briefly recalled the first time he trained with Ur when they wore almost nothing on one snowy day. He muffled a laugh. Those were the days.

"D-don't l-laugh... N-not f-f-funny," she shivered, still clinging on to him. Although she was already in direct contact with his skin, she felt that there wasn't really any semblance of warmth within him. True, he wasn't as cold as the ice beneath her, but he certainly wasn't warm. Were ice mages really like this, at least when they were using magic? She didn't recall Ultear to be this cold; though to be fair, Meredy hadn't really come in contact with Ultear as close as  _this_  when she used her Ice-Make magic before.

"Sorry," he said, lightly laughing. Meredy wasn't really expecting that, since she assumed he'd say something less nice instead. "I guess this is an ice mage thing, being able to withstand this temperature."

"W-wish I-I k-knew h-how..." He could then feel her lips trembling behind him.

"You know, our mentor once said, that 'to control the chill, we need to feel the chill.'" He recalled the happy, innocent moments which ended when they were attacked by the demon, Deliora. "As I've said, this may be an ice mage thing, but I guess you could try not to think of the cold as a negative thing."

"S-so you j-just f-feel it? T-think it?"

"Yeah, I guess," he answered. The next thing he knew, a pink glowing seal appeared on his wrist. Looking at the arms around him, he saw that it also appeared on Meredy's own. Alarmed, he suddenly surveyed the skies, turning around to see if there was an enemy.

"D-don't w-worry, that's j-just m-me..." she said, as Lyon stopped his movements to glance at her.

He suddenly had thoughts of being cold, but he simply brushed it away, already used to the sensation. Slowly, the clattering behind him lessened. "What's happening…?" he asked, puzzled.

"We now have s-shared senses and emotions," she explained, her shivers lessening. "Since y-you have a stronger control over what's h-happening, I c-could allow you overpower my own." She saw his eyes widen in enlightenment.

" _So this is her magic_ ," he thought, having only heard from reports that her magic had something to do with sensations. However, it was only now when he had actually witnessed (and experienced) how it was done. Honestly, he didn't know what to feel knowing that she was sort of using him at that moment, but he realized that he didn't really mind. "So am I right in assuming that you aren't feeling cold right now, similar to me?"

"To be honest, I still f-feel the coldness, since there wasn't really anything d-done to the ice." Lyon then felt her gradually loosening her grip on his trunk, though the arms still held onto him for support, "Though I could t-tolerate it better now, thanks to you. S-sorry you were surprised. I s-should've asked your permission first."

"Don't mention it. At least you aren't deathly clinging on to me now," he said light-heartedly, earning him a "hmpf" from the girl. Though he would never really admit it, a part of him was actually disappointed that she wasn't holding on to him that much anymore.

Lyon then gazed forward, now seeing a bunch of houses instead of trees.

"I think we're here." He felt her shifting from behind, peeking at the ground as well.

She positioned herself back in midline. "I guess we are, thank g-goodness."

Gradually, they descended to the ground and jumped off the ice eagle, which then shattered into ice bits when Lyon broke the spell. He then donned his tunic when Meredy, who was trying to avoid eye contact, handed it to him, saying "thanks" in the process. She broke her spell too, the seal disappearing from their wrists.

Both of them decided to go to a nearby shop, though it was more for Meredy who was still shivering (she decided to buy a cup of hot chocolate). Afterwards, they went their way towards the mountains, where the client resided.

"It's really peaceful here, the air is really fresh," Meredy mentioned, sipping the last drop of hot chocolate from her paper cup. She glanced at the surroundings. The breeze was cool, the sky was clearly blue, and the plants around appeared lively, with butterflies soaring above them. Even rabbits and squirrels which were hiding among trees seemed to welcome them.

Lyon merely nodded, looking at his map. "The house should already be around here somewhere."

"There!" Meredy exclaimed, pointing at a house meters away from them. Lyon followed the direction of her finger and walked faster, causing her to catch up.

"I can't wait to see who it is," he said excitedly, coming closer and closer to the house,

"Me too," Meredy replied, and seconds later, they were already standing in front of the house.

Lyon observed the structure before him. "Guess this is the place." It matched the address, as well as the description from the job request.

"This person must really like plants, though," Meredy mentioned, taking note of the trees growing out of the walls of the house.

Lyon then knocked on the door, and turned the knob, realizing that it was open.

"Good afternoon, we're mages from Lamia Scale," Lyon started, then feasting his eyes on the several plants around him. His eyes stopped on the person who was wearing a coat.

"Lamia Scale...?" The man said threateningly, a dark aura looming over him. "I didn't ask for them... My plants don't like uninvited guests."

Lyon and Meredy looked at each other, sweat dropping from the faces.

"Are we at the wrong house...?" she whispered, gulping in nervousness.

Lyon shrugged his shoulder. "But the description matched the place..."

Just when they were about to apologize, the man turned around, revealing a face reminiscent of a tree. "Wahaha! That was a joke! I never knew my jokes would work on you, youngsters! Wahahahaha!"

Lyon grimaced slightly at him, while Meredy could only gawk.

The ice mage, quite annoyed, then started speaking. "Sir, I'm sorry, but you are...?"

"Ohhh! Haven't I placed my name on the job request?" He then grabbed a piece of paper from his pocket, one similar to the paper Lyon read before he took the mission. "Uh-oh! It seems I simply forgot! My apologies!" The man bent his body forward, laughing his heart out. The two weren't really amused. The client then coughed, standing more properly. "My name is Walrod. Walrod Cken."

Both Lyon and Meredy paled.

"The wizard saint?!" Meredy loudly uttered, placing her hands on her mouth.

"One of the four heavenly gods of Ishgal?!" Lyon said with disbelief. So his client really was an important person!

"Just kidding!" The man then said, which made the two look dismayed. "...I'd be kidding if I was kidding," he continued.

The two then scratched their head in annoyance.

"You must be the ice mage, Lyon-kun!" The wizard saint then approached Meredy and reached out his arms to place them on her shoulders. "My, I never knew you were such a fine, young woman!"

The real 'Lyon' looked at them appalled.

"Wait, I'm not—" she started, but then Walrod suddenly burst out laughing.

"It was a joke! It was a joke! Wahahaha!"

They simply brought their shoulders down, already tired of his jokes. The wizard saint laughed one last time. "Since you are both here, I assume job is done?"

Lyon nodded, taking out the glass container from his bag.

Walrod eyed the specimen inside the cylinder. After examining it, a content smile appeared from his face. "Perfect."

Lyon stood proudly, handing the container to his client. Meredy watched him from the corner of her eye, grinning.

"Well, I think I owe the two of you something. But why don't we have tea first?" He motioned them outside. The two nodded and followed him.

Outside the house, Lyon and Meredy sat across each other, and were served with their own cups of tea. Both uttered their 'thanks.'

The wizard saint sat on the spot between them, "The plant you are holding right now…That is extremely rare." He sipped from his cup, closing his eyes. "It's the only one in existence in this entire continent."

Meredy almost spat her tea with the revelation. Lyon was still calmly listening.

"Just kidding. Wahahaha!" Meredy almost glared at him, while Lyon's facial expression remained unchanged, as if he was expecting it. "In truth, it really is rare. There are actually only two places where it has grown. You have been to one place, Hibiscus Forest; as for the other one, I requested another guild with a powerful ice mage to retrieve it."

"Fairy Tail," Lyon said unconsciously. Meredy nodded at him, thinking the same.

Walrod nodded more vigorously, holding his cup by his side. "Oh yes, it is Fairy Tail! How did you know? Wahahaha!" He then sipped from his cup again. "Well, I don't think that's important right now. Let's not waste any time, shall we?" He brought a pouch from his coat. "As promised, here is your reward, Lyon-kun."

Lyon reached for the pouch, gratefully accepting it. "Thank you, Walrod-san."

"No, it's really thanks to you," Walrod said, his mouth curving upwards. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have to do something inside the house again. You're free to go after you've finished your drinks."

Lyon shifted awkwardly, standing up. Meredy stood up too and positioned herself beside the ice mage. "Again, thank you for the opportunity to help you, Walrod-san," he said, bowing down.

"No, really, it's me who is truly grateful to you," the wizard saint said, turning his head. "This isn't just a simple rare plant. There is actually something special about it."

He started moving towards his house once more. The two mages could only watch as he further walked away.

"I won't tell you until I've taken care of it and raised their numbers. Come back again after a few months, and I'll tell you everything without secrets. I could even let you have one of them so you could give it to your girlfriend," the wizard saint playfully remarked, looking at Meredy, which caused the girl to widen her eyes.

"Wait, he's not my—" Meredy started, waving her arms in front of her, but the ice mage was faster.

"This brat isn't my girlfriend," Lyon retorted indifferently, resting one arm over her head.

Meredy was shocked with how he regarded her. "I'm not a brat!" she screamed annoyingly, taking his arm off her head. Only Ultear had the right to call her something like that, remembering the former's tendency to call her "big kid." Heck,  _big_   _kid_  wasn't even that close to _brat_!

"Yes you are." He tried to keep a straight face. "So demanding."

"I'm not demanding!" She crossed her arms, looking away from him. "At least I'm not a reckless old man!"

Slightly offended, Lyon combed his silver hair. "I'm not an old man."

The wizard saint wanted to say that he was just kidding, but seeing that banter in front of him, he just found himself laughing heartily. The two didn't seem to notice him.

"Oh, by the way," Walrod suddenly said, earning the attention of the other two mages, "since we spoke about Fairy Tail earlier, there's a festival right now at Magnolia, I just heard. If I was younger, I would have come. I heard many guests are even coming over, even the Magic Council! It must be something extravagant!"

"A festival, huh?" Lyon said to no one in particular. Fairy Tail sure liked colourful events like those.

"Yes, a festival! Wahahaha! Well, that's all! Be sure to come back, youngsters!" Walrod waved his hand at them, and the door gradually closed by itself.

When they were sure the door was fully closed, they turned their backs and started walking towards Clover Town once more.

"Magic Council…" Meredy said softly to herself, with a downcast look all over her face.

Lyon noticed, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll figure something out."


	7. Smile

The train from Clover station travelled at a moderate speed, allowing the passengers to view the beauty of the mountains, fields and river through the windows. It was around 3'o-clock in the afternoon, which provided just the right amount of light for the people to appreciate the scenery better.

Meredy glanced at the window, staring off the distance, and recalled how she ended up going to a place which she didn't even intend to go to in the first place.

 

_Neither of them said anything else as they walked back to Clover Town. Meredy was still bothered by the fact that the Magic Council would be coming over to Magnolia, increasing the chances of her being caught. She felt that she should avoid that as much as possible, at least until the information about Jellal had been passed on to Fairy Tail. Briefly, she looked over at her companion, who appeared to be in deep thought. In truth, she was grateful for everything that he has done for her in a short span of time, but she also felt guilty that the more he was involved with her affairs, the more he's putting himself at risk._

_When they finally reached the town, Meredy chose to break the silence._

" _Now that we're here," she started saying, "I guess I should buy my own coat so we could finally go our separate ways." She looked over at the buildings and spotted a clothing store. "Oh, there's a shop! Wait here while I buy. I won't be long!" She began walking away when she felt someone tugging her arm._

" _Wait," Lyon remarked, loosening his grip on her arm. She noticed how serious he appeared. "There's no need to do that."_

_Meredy gave him a puzzled look, blinking several times. "Eh?"_

_The expression on his face remained unchanged. "Because you're coming back with me to Lamia Scale."_

Meredy's thoughts were interrupted when she heard footsteps coming closer. She turned her head and saw Lyon, who then sat across from her on the train's couch. He was holding some sort of flyer. He started speaking. "Apparently, this Fairy Tail festival is a three-day event. Today's the first day, so we should probably go there tomorrow."

She lowered her head, choosing to look at her lap instead of him. "Why?"

"Fairy Tail is probably very busy this first day since it's the kick-off of the event, after all." Lyon handed her the paper, which she automatically took from his hand. "They would've already adjusted by the second day, and I figured it'll be better if we inform them beforehand that we'll be coming over. I already sent a letter to Gray."

She gazed at the colourful paper before her, noticing the big text saying: ' _Come and Join the Magical Festival of Fiore's Strongest Guild, FAIRY TAIL!'_ The background had a beautiful drawing of Magnolia, with various colours of confetti drawn on the edge. She subconsciously gripped the paper tighter. "No, I mean, why are you doing this?"

Lyon leaned his trunk closer to her, holding his hands together. "Well," he paused, as if he didn't really know the answer to it, "I owe you for helping me out on the job. I'm not saying that I could not have done it by myself, but you made it easier."

"You do remember that I was the one who owed you since you saved my life in the first place," she countered. The paper on her hand was starting to crumple.

He chuckled. "Looks like you caught me." His laughter faded when he noticed that Meredy wasn't making any move. "Look, if I were in your shoes, I would just be thankful for the help I'm receiving, especially during the times when I really need it."

"But you won't understand!" She retorted back in a higher volume, causing some of the people around them to look at their spot. Meredy saw Lyon nodding his head at the passengers, as if telling them that everything's under control. The passengers resumed whatever it was they were doing. Meredy then continued, softly and more careful this time. "You won't understand, because I'm a wanted person, and you aren't. You should not be even helping me."

After making sure that no one else was hearing their conversation, he leaned his head closer to her. "You may be a wanted person," he whispered, not looking away from her, "but I don't think you're a bad person. If you ask me, there are lots of other people deserving to be in jail than you."

Eyes glassy, she finally looked at him in the eyes, but she couldn't say anything in response.

"You know, I've also done some things which I regret in my life." He shifted his eyes to his hands. "There was a time wherein I wanted to revive a demon for my own selfish reasons. Looking back, I didn't really think of the other consequences of that action since I was too much engulfed in hatred. Perhaps I was just lucky that the demon was apparently dead, and a bunch of good people gave me a chance to redeem myself."

Meredy noted the rueful tone of his voice, but still could not find herself to respond.

"All I'm saying is, I didn't know what I was doing back then, and thanks to the people who opened my eyes, I was able to live a better life." He turned his eyes towards her. "You're the same too, right? I know you were in Grimiore Heart as a kid, and I assume you didn't know what you were doing too. Why don't I give you a chance as well?"

Her eyes were starting to water with his words. Bringing one hand to her mouth, she could only utter, "Lyon…"

He added, "And I'm not saying that you should forget about your sins."

Meredy then thought that his words sounded familiar.  _Ultear._

"In my own experience, those mistakes served as a reminder for me not to turn into that person again—a reminder that I should continue to live my life fully, and not to throw it away in hatred," the ice mage slowly said the next words, "In your case, I'm not entirely sure, but…"

She heard him pause, causing her to look at him curiously.

"…there's that look in your eyes," he pointed one finger towards her green orbs, which made her slightly move away. "I saw fear. I'm not sure of what, but basing from your decision earlier," he said, pertaining to her hesitance in walking through the big forest by herself, "I assume it has something to do with being alone."

Stunned that he could read her so well, she could only lightly nod, avoiding his gaze.

"I see," he nodded marginally, shutting his eyes, "you have friends in Fairy Tail, right? And later on, you'll meet the members of Lamia Scale." He opened his eyes, and saw that she still wasn't looking at him. "They're a weird bunch, but they're really nice once you get to know them," he then said the next statement with a smile, "So don't ever think that you're alone."

Meredy simply stared at him.

For a moment, Lyon tried to recall what he had said to check if he mentioned something wrong.

Meredy finally decided to say something, noticing that his smile was fading. She bowed her head. "Thank you."

"Eh?" Lyon gave her a puzzled look, blinking several times.

"I know we've only known each other for a short while, but," she raised her head. Teardrops were at the edge of her eyes, but she was smiling. "Thank you for being here too."

He didn't really expect that reaction from her, so he found himself blushing at the comment. He moved his trunk backwards, sat straight, crossed his arms and looked away from her. "Don't mention it."

"But will your guild master be okay with it?" she asked innocently, wiping the tears from her eyes.

 _Oh shit,_  he thought.  _Ooba Babasaama._  He suddenly imagined himself being spun around by the angry granny. He grimaced at the thought.

"Um, are you okay?" She waved her hands in front of him, a worried look on her face.

Lyon flinched as he got back to reality. "I'm fine." He coughed uneasily. "To be honest, I haven't thought of that. But I'll be able to handle it. Leave her to me."

Meredy stared at him for a few seconds and found herself muffling a giggle, which then erupted into laughter.

Lyon creased his brow. "What's so funny?"

Meredy covered her mouth for decency, still giggling. "It's nothing. You're really not the type to plan ahead, are you?" She laughed heartily again. "I guess you really are a reckless old man!"

Lyon huffed irritatingly. "Shut up, I'm not an old man!"

Meredy quietly noted that he didn't say anything to refute being reckless. She beamed happily at him.

On the other hand, while Lyon felt a tinge of annoyance at the girl before him, it was then when he realized that a genuine smile like that suited her the best. He felt that maybe, it was a pleasing sight that he would never get tired of seeing.

Meanwhile, in Magnolia, a rowdy crowd was heard in the streets. The program for the first day was over, and various members from Fairy Tail started cleaning the debris by the stage. The jollity of the place didn't diminish however since different stalls selling various merchandises as well as game stalls still remained by the streets.

"That's a wrap, guys! That was a great first day," Erza said proudly, as she used her Requip magic to change her dress into a sweeper's overalls. She proceeded to briskly sweep the floor with a broom, happily humming a tune.

"I agree, everyone did a great job," Mirajane added sweetly, smiling as she removed the decorations on the stage.

"It sucks that we have to do this cleaning job, though." Natsu slowly picked up the discarded confetti on the ground, clearly bored with what he was doing.

"What's the matter, Flame Brain?" Gray retorted in a cocky voice. He was also picking the confetti on the ground near the Fire Dragon Slayer, but instead of his bare hands, he was using an ice stick. "Can't handle such a simple job?"

"At least I have my clothes on, Ice Stripper!" A shriek was heard from Gray, and the next thing they knew, the two were battling on the stage.

"Here we go again," Lucy commented exasperatingly, scrubbing the table on the stage.

"Guys, don't destroy the stage!" Wendy squeaked, attempting to stop the fight between the two. "We still need the stage for tomorrow!" But a bucket somehow flew out of Natsu's and Gray's fight, hitting Wendy on the head, which then knocked her unconscious.

Somehow, the other members from Fairy Tail just got involved in the brawl.

"Only a man would not refuse a challenge such as this!" Elfman punched Natsu in the face, causing him to fly towards Erza. The broom that Erza was holding then flew its way towards Max, who was running away from the scene. In the end, the broom somehow ended shoved up in his rear.

Cana, who was passing by while holding lots of barrels of wine, accidentally tripped out of drunkenness, causing one of the barrels to hit Gray hard on the head. Juvia, who was watching the scene from afar, then crawled quickly towards Gray's limp body. "Gray-sama is still very handsome even if he is beaten up and unconscious!"

"Aye! What's happening here?" Happy asked to no one in particular, just flying back towards the stage. He was holding a fried fish on a stick. He hovered over towards another cat. "Would you like some, Charle?"

The female Exceed merely puffed in annoyance and crossed her arms, soaring away from the disappointed Happy.

Just then, amidst the ruckus, a dark beam from the sky hit an area somewhere far from the festival grounds, but still within Magnolia. A deafening sound was heard momentarily, but disappeared when the beam vanished as well. Not many people detected the sound, as they were too preoccupied with the merriment (and riot) of the festival grounds.

"Did anybody hear that?" Lucy asked, bothered with what she heard. She pushed back her blonde hair behind her ear, as if attempting to hear whatever she heard even better. She then realized that nobody was listening to what she was saying as the scuffle further intensified, causing the stage to break and fall down.

It was another normal day for Fairy Tail.

In another place in Fiore, a similar dark beam emerged, which emitted an ear-splitting sound, but rapidly dissipated into thin air. The common townsfolk quickly dismissed it as lightning striking the ground. It was not unheard inside the building of the strongest guild of that town, Lamia Scale.

Inside the guild house, a certain girl with dark pink hair tripped on her foot. "Kyaaah~! That hurts!"

"That's what you get for constantly walking around, Chelia!" Another mage who resembled a canine screamed angrily at the girl, causing her to cover her ears defensively.

"Waaah! Sorry, Toby!" the girl Chelia cried back. She ruffled her pigtails with uneasiness. "I just can't help myself! Why isn't Lyon back yet?"

A guy with extremely bushy eyebrows approached the two of them. "Quiet, guys, did you hear that noise?"

"Whaaat?" The dog ears on Toby's head then wiggled. "I didn't hear anything! Are you sure, Yuka?"

Yuka scratched one of his large eyebrows. "I'm sure I did."

"I heard it too," a woman with hair colour similar to Chelia interjected, "but maybe it's just lightning."

"Sherrrrryyy~!" Chelia hugged the said person, greatly clinging on to her waist. "Where is Lyon? I thought the job he took was pretty easy? Shouldn't he be back by now?"

"I'm sure Lyon's fine," a tall man with a bald head and long beard said, approaching their group. "He's a strong mage, Chelia. Just believe in him."

"But Jura-san," the girl said back, a worried look remaining on her face.

"Also," Jura uttered, turning his head to Yuka and Sherry, "I heard the noise too. I'm going to check it out."

The group nodded, and the bald wizard saint headed towards the exit of the guild house.

"I'm going to watch Lyon by the window! That's what soul mates do, right?" Chelia exclaimed, sparkles coming out of her eyes.

Sherry clapped her hands together, slightly tilting her head sideways. "That's my cousin!" she said proudly, gazing at the younger girl.

"Is that even something to be proud of?!" Yuka annoyingly asked. No one answered him.

On her way to the window, Chelia tripped on her foot again.

A fuming "Ooooooon!" was heard, followed by the mention of the name of the girl who tripped.

It was another normal day for Lamia Scale.


	8. Home

The sun was already disappearing beneath the horizon, and the sky was gradually becoming darker. A certain Sky God Slayer was resting her head on the window pane, mix of worry and disappointment in her eyes when she was unable to see any signs of anyone with spiky silver hair walking towards their guild house.

"It's already getting dark outside, give it a rest already, Chelia," Yuka remarked, as he removed his green hat to scratch his head. He was sitting on one of the benches together with Sherry and Toby.

"That's what I told her earlier, right?!" Toby shouted angrily, which earned him a "calm down" from his thick-eyebrowed friend. The latter was ignored however, as the canine-like mage continued complaining, banging his fists on the table. "Oooon! And I'm getting hungry too!"

Yuka rolled his eyes. "Then eat," he said, as if it was the most obvious thing to do in the world.

"He usually does things fast, though. It's very much unlike him to be this late," Sherry commented, and she suddenly stood up, remembering something. "Oh! It  _is_  late! I have to go home now!"

"What's the rush?" Yuka asked her.

Sherry appeared to ignore the anti-Mage, though, since she was too busy eagerly fixing her bag, much to his dismay. Her younger cousin answered for her instead.

"She's going to talk with her fiancé." Chelia finally walked away from the window, opting to sit with her teammates. She released a heavy sigh, clasping her hands together and looking dreamy. "They do it every night. Their 'love' is truly great."

The dreamy look did not escape from the girl's face as she leaned her arms on the table and rested her head on them. Yuka assumed that she was imagining romantic scenarios, as usual.

Sherry quickly bid her farewell and said something along the lines of leaving the apartment door open for Chelia or something. Her cousin didn't seem to hear her, causing Yuka and Toby to sweatdrop.

"This takes you back, doesn't it?" Toby said, in an unusual calm manner, causing Yuka to look at him curiously. "Years ago, wasn't it Sherry who was head over heels for Lyon?"

Yuka stifled a laugh. "Yeah, if things hadn't changed, it's probably Sherry who's waiting for him by the window."

"You think so?" Toby asked incredulously. "It has already been seven years; you think Lyon would be able to tolerate having her like that?"

"Stupid, I was kidding, you know." Yuka played with his hat, twirling the edge of its white sections. "Lyon is pretty choosy when it comes to girls. I think he's the type not to get the hopes up of girls he isn't interested in, which is why Sherry stopped and moved on to that Blue Pegasus guy. It's pretty much the same for his own feelings; when he thinks his own aren't getting anywhere for a girl he actually likes, he stops. Remember when he stopped pursuing that Juvia girl from Fairy Tail?"

"Wow, I never thought of that," Toby said, amazed at his friend. "You're really smart, Yuka!"

"Of course I am," the anti-Mage responded proudly. Their conversation was interrupted with the opening of the doors of the building.

"Jura-san!" Toby exclaimed, standing up from his chair.

Yuka jumped out of his seat and rushed towards the wizard saint. "You're back! What did you find?"

"That isn't important at the moment," Jura remarked, sidestepping, "I stumbled upon them."

Chelia quickly snapped back to reality when she saw a familiar figure who she was expecting to see earlier. She excitedly skipped towards their direction. "Lyon! You're okay!" But she accidentally slipped, falling face first on the floor. "Ow!"

They could only watch her, as it was a normal occurrence for the girl.

"Silly Chelia." Lyon placed a palm on his face, shaking his head. "Of course I'm okay."

"Wait," Yuka suddenly commented, glancing at the people in front of them, "what do you mean by 'them?'"

Just then, another figure behind Jura emerged, slowly walking her way beside Lyon. She tucked some of her light pink hair behind her earmuffs. "Um, hi," she uttered quite shyly, her head lowered.

"Who's that?!" Toby questioned, pointing directly at the woman who recently arrived.

"Yeah, who is she?" Chelia likewise asked, eyeing her suspiciously. Why was she standing close to Lyon? And… why was she wearing Lyon's mantle?!

Not minding the apparent anger displayed by the Sky God Slayer, Lyon shifted his weight uncomfortably, not really knowing how to answer it. "She's…"

Jura noted that they were getting too much unwanted attention from their other guild mates. Thinking quickly, he purposely said in a louder voice, "She's a client. She wanted to ask our help directly." Jura felt relieved when the others shifted back to what they were doing. He motioned his teammates to come closer. "We'll speak about this more privately. Let's go to one of the meeting rooms."

All nodded simultaneously and headed towards one of the private rooms. Lyon observed his other guild mates and was thankful that they didn't seem to bother themselves in knowing the identity of their 'client.'

When the doors were closed and everyone sat on their respective chairs around the wooden table, Lyon attempted to explain the real situation.

"Actually, she's not really a client," Lyon said straight-to-the-point, motioning his hand to the girl beside him. "She's Meredy of Crime Sorcière. I'm sure you've heard of that guild."

"It's that independent guild that defeats dark guilds right?" Yuka said directly, crossing his legs.

Toby bent his trunk forward, slamming his hands on the table. "Really? That's cool!"

Chelia still watched her questionably, not taking her eyes away from her. Meredy noticed and she looked away.

"But there's more, though," Yuka added sternly, arms crossed. "The only catch is, they're criminals, correct?"

"What?!" Toby and Chelia exclaimed at the same time. Lyon saw Meredy flinching uncomfortably, making him bite his lip ruefully.

"Please do not judge her so quickly," Jura intercepted, "Lyon has explained to me her current situation. I have met one of her companions before," he said, recalling the incident where Jellal Fernandes helped them in defeating Oracion Seis, which even led them to fight against the Magic Council to prevent the ex-councillor from going to prison. "I'm sure they have changed from their old ways."

Lyon nodded to him in agreement and said, "She isn't a bad person."

Meredy silently thanked them.

"I don't have any reason not to believe you, Lyon and Jura-san," the anti-Mage remarked, "However, don't you think it's dangerous for the guild to be associated with someone like her? I mean, she is a wanted person…"

Just before they could say anything in response, the door suddenly opened, revealing an elderly woman who definitely did not look amused. "And who is this wanted person you are talking about?!"

"Babasaama!" Team Lamia Scale exclaimed and stood up, showing their respects to their guild master. Meredy rose from her seat too, and awkwardly bowed.

"Now what was that I heard earlier?! Would anyone tell me what is going on here?" Ooba pointed at Toby, and began circling her hand, causing the canine-like mage to spin around.

"Why meee?" Toby helplessly uttered, feeling dizzy as the granny continued whirling him.

Ooba eyed the unfamiliar female mage. "Who is she? She's not from Lamia Scale."

Meredy gulped, looking at the ground.

Lyon glanced at the girl beside him and saw her discomfort. He suddenly remembered what he had told her earlier. "Babasaama, I'll explain."

Ooba eyed the girl closely. "I have read the reports. I think I know who she is." The elderly woman remained displeased. "She shouldn't be freely roaming around here. You, Lyon, of all people, should know that."

Lyon appeared to ignore what his guild master said. "She needs our help."

"I don't care about that," she replied harshly, her golden bangles producing a sound as she placed her hands on her waist, "We need to protect the best interests of the guild."

"Just this once, please. Allow me to help her." Lyon knelt down on one leg, lowering his head. "I will take full responsibility, but rest assured, I won't do anything reckless to stain the name of the guild." He lifted his head, facing his guild master this time. "So please, reconsider."

The rest of the people in the room were shocked with what they were witnessing, especially Yuka and Toby, considering they were watching how their once-arrogant teammate was now showing a semblance of humility. Jura tried to suppress a proud smile, while Chelia thought that the scene was similar to one of the romance novels she had read, where the male protagonist was asking the hand of her lady from her strict parents. Meredy lifted a hand to her mouth, shocked and thankful at the same time, seeing that he kept his word.

The guild master saw how he knelt unyielding, with determination flashing in his eyes. "Stand up, Lyon."

The ice mage did as he was told.

The granny continued speaking, "What does she need anyway?"

"We just need to escort her to Fairy Tail."

"Why?" Ooba crossed her arms.

Lyon tried to explain patiently. "She just needs to remain unnoticed because the Magic Council is at Magnolia. She needs to deliver an important message to Fairy Tail."

"Hmm?" The old woman tapped a finger to her chin. "Why Fairy Tail?"

Lyon was unable to answer, so he looked at Meredy. The Maguilty mage began to speak, "Um, you see—"

"On the second thought, don't answer. I don't need to know." Ooba began walking away, her back facing the people in the room. Upon touching the door knob, she spoke, "Fine. Just this once." She flipped her red cape and turned her head towards the ice mage. "I trust in you, Lyon, but don't you ever screw up, or else!" She spun Toby more violently this time, causing him to dig a hole on the wooden floor. A feeble whimper was heard from the tornado-turned mage.

"Of course, you have my word, Babasaama." Lyon politely bowed one last time before she left the room completely.

Yuka noticed that nobody spoke immediately, so he did. "So, what's the plan?"

"Before anything else, I do believe it's proper to have introductions first." Jura reached a hand towards Meredy, which she gradually accepted. "I'm Jura."

Yuka approached her as well. "Well, I don't really think you are a bad person. I'm Yuka. People know me as 'Yuka the Wave!'"

A figure crawled from the ground, similar to a dog. Meredy lightly squeaked. "Toby's my name. I'd let you see my new sock once I find it." Meredy wanted to point out that there was actually a sock dangling around his neck, but for some reason decided against it.

Lyon noticed one person who hadn't moved from her spot. "Chelia?"

The said girl snapped from her musings, slowly walking her way towards the others. Hesitantly, the Sky God Slayer stretched an arm towards the woman in front of her, which the latter accepted despite the former avoiding eye contact. "I'm Chelia."

She gladly accepted everyone's introductions, smiling blithely at them. "It's nice to meet you all. I'm Meredy."

Lyon smiled too, glad that everything was going well at that moment. "Now that everybody knows who each other are, I'd like to briefly tell the plan. We'll be heading to Magnolia tomorrow for the Fairy Tail Festival. From there, I'll meet up with Gray so she can talk to him and his other guild mates. Of course, I'm not forcing you guys to tag along, but if you want to, you're free to come with us."

"I'm quite short of funds at the moment," Yuka said, scratching his head uncomfortably, "I actually plan on taking a job with Toby tomorrow morning."

"Well, why don't we go to Magnolia after the job? Let's finish it quickly so we could catch up! Fairy Tail festivals are really pretty," Toby exclaimed, grinning excitedly.

"Alright, then, I don't see why we couldn't." Yuka crossed his arms, chuckling.

"I'd really like to accompany you, but I have things to settle in the morning," Jura stated with a dismal tone, but smiled as he voiced the next statement. "But I'll catch up too once it's done."

Chelia's pigtails sprang up.  _"Then, that means they'll be alone!"_  She watched Meredy and Lyon with an envious glint in her eyes.  _"I can't let that happen!"_

"Chelia? Are you okay…?" Lyon inquired, uncertain why she had that look on her face.

"I'll go with you!" The Sky God Slayer suddenly blurted out, surprising the ice mage. "Besides, I want to see Wendy, too!"

" _You don't really need to shout_ ," Lyon thought, frowning inwardly. He briefly glanced at his pocket watch before saying, "It's getting late. We should all head home to rest. Guess we'll see each other tomorrow."

The team nodded and headed out, including Meredy.

"Wait," Lyon said, turning to Meredy. "Where will you be staying?"

"Me?" She pointed to herself. She took out her pouch bag, counting the jewels inside, "Don't worry, I could just stay at an inn…" Her voice gradually faded when she realized that she barely had 5,000 jewels, which she knew wasn't enough considering the normal rates of usual inns. She pouted slightly, troubled; Jellal was the one who handled their finances.

Lyon noticed her predicament. "You can stay at Chelia's."

"Whaaat?!" Chelia complained loudly. Why does her love rival have to stay with her, of all people?

"Is there a problem?" Lyon asked, raising his eyebrow at the girl.

"Errm," Chelia quickly thought of an excuse, "You see, Sherry might not agree! I don't think she likes sudden guests!"

Lyon crossed his arms over his chest, not really convinced with what she was saying. Nevertheless, he was left with no other choice. He turned towards Meredy. "You can stay at my place, then. I'll sleep in the couch."

" _Wait, wait, wait! What was happening? Why did it turn out like this?"_  Chelia was having an internal struggle. " _They can't stay together, not when they're alone! But what could I do?"_

Meredy waved her hands in front of Lyon. "No, wait, I'll sleep in the couch. I'm already intruding, after all."

"WAIIIT!" screamed Chelia, earning her the looks of everyone inside the guild. Suddenly realizing that she caused a commotion, she weakly uttered, "Sorry..!"

Lyon was getting confused, scratching his face annoyingly. "What now?"

"M-maybe I could let her borrow jewels!" She then realized that she left her wallet in their apartment. "Or, or, she could stay at our place, maybe! But, Sherry is—, I don't really know, but!—"

"But what? For crying out loud, Chelia, make up your mind." Lyon was already frustrated.

"Fine!" The girl clasped her fists tight. "She can stay at our place!"

"What about Sherry?"

"Leave her to me! I'll explain!" The Sky God Slayer grabbed Meredy's hand, pulling her away from Lyon.  _"If this is what it takes so that they won't be together, then be it!"_

Meredy tried to pull her hand away but the girl's grip was strong. She awkwardly waved her free hand at Lyon as they continued walking further away. "S-see you tomorrow. Thanks again!"

Lyon smirked at what he was seeing, as he raised a hand to wave back.

"So, Lyon," Toby whispered behind the ice mage's ear, wagging his eyebrows suggestively. "Are you seeing this Meredy chick?"

"Remember what Lyon said earlier too?" Yuka added, whispering at his other ear. He placed a hand on his chin, nodding cheekily. "She isn't  _bad_." The two sniggered.

A vein popped on Lyon's forehead. "Shut it, guys," he snapped annoyingly, walking away.

The duo continued laughing. They didn't see the look on his face, but they were sure that his face turned red. They were also about to walk away when they realized that their feet were stuck frozen on the floor.

"Hey Lyon!" The two attempted to move frantically, but it was futile. "Let us out of here!"

Lyon snorted, ignoring his teammates' pleas. Yup, he definitely missed them.

Meanwhile, the two girls arrived at the apartment door. Chelia turned the door knob and it opened instantly.

"Sherry, I'm home!" the girl exclaimed, but nobody answered her back. The living room was empty, but the faint chattering of a female voice was heard emanating from another room.

"You live with your sister?" asked Meredy, who was removing her boots as she entered.

"No, she's my older cousin, actually," Chelia answered back, with a hint of spite in her voice. In truth, she still wasn't amused that her rival was staying over.

Meredy noticed the unfriendliness, but she tried to understand. After all, she should be thankful to them for allowing her to stay. "I see. It must be nice to be with your family," she said, ending her statement with a pleasant smile.

Chelia found herself crinkling her brow.  _"What's with her? And why is she smiling like that? It makes it hard for me to hate heeeeer!"_  The God Slayer unknowingly walked in small circles, confusing Meredy.

"Hey, are you okay…?" Meredy softly said, touching the girl on her shoulder, which then halted the latter's movement.

"You!" The girl directed a finger towards Meredy. "What's your relationship with Lyon?"

"Eh?" Meredy's eyelids flickered many times.

"I'm serious!" The girl barked back, frowning at the older girl before her. "So what is it?"

Meredy noted that Chelia was indeed serious, observing the flushed cheeks of the girl. "Lyon is only a friend. Or acquaintance, actually, since we haven't known each other that long." She displayed another smile. "Does that answer your question?"

Chelia's jaw dropped in shock. She eyed the blue mantle (which she knew belonged to Lyon) draped over her shoulder. "So you aren't his girlfriend?"

Meredy flexed her neck sideways. She was getting tired of hearing it. It was the second time that day that people assumed that she had a relationship like that with the ice mage. "No, I'm not."

A wash of relief was seen in the girl's face upon hearing it, but before she could say anything else, another female voice was heard. "Chelia?"

Meredy turned her head and saw another woman who looked like an older version of the little girl next to her. "Um, good evening," the Maguilty mage greeted, bowing down.

"Oh, Sherry!" The Sky God Slayer ran across Meredy and stood between her and her cousin. "This is Meredy. She's a guest for tonight. Lyon's acquaintance."

With a serious facial expression, Sherry observed Meredy from top to bottom, making the latter uncomfortable. To Meredy's surprise, the woman suddenly flashed a big smile at her.

"I see, nice to meet you! I'm Sherry." She stretched her hand and shook Meredy's hand. "You look like a mess. Don't you have other clothes?" She pointed at her red dress, which was smudged with lots of dirt.

Meredy weakly shook her head, to which Sherry immediately beamed.

"You can borrow some of my clothes, then! I think they'll suit you!" Sherry said, and then grabbed a handful of Meredy's hair, surprising the latter. "We both have pink hair, you see? Yours is a shade lighter, but all of the clothes I bought are chosen specifically to suit the color pink!"

Meredy could only smile at her. They  _are_  a weird bunch, she thought. "Thank you, I'd appreciate that."

"You should clean yourself up first, though! The bathroom is over here." Sherry pointed at a room beside them. "But before that, I'll grab you some blankets. The two of you should head to the dining area though, the food's already prepared!" Sherry skipped away, humming a happy tune.

"Sherry's in an awfully good mood. I guess she had a pretty good conversation with Ren." She released a sigh, and then had a dreamy look on her face. "They're really the ideal couple~!"

Meredy stifled a chuckle at the look on the girl's face. "Who's Ren?"

"Ren is Sherry's fiancé. The guy is from Blue Pegasus," she murmured with the same dreamy look.

"I see." If memory served her correct, that man was one of the Trimens of Blue Pegasus.

Chelia snapped out of her daydream. "Let's go to the dining table, then?" she said, to which the other girl nodded.

When Sherry finally arrived at the dining area, they started eating dinner. They had a casual conversation as they ate, though it was more of Sherry doing all the talking about her fiancé and Chelia agreeing that her cousin indeed has skyrocketing levels of love. Meredy only found herself nodding and laughing along with them. She also felt better seeing that Chelia was being more open to her compared to when they first met.

After dinner, she proceeded to the bathroom to find a simple pink sleeveless dress with black trimmings hanging on the towel rack. It had a note on it.

" _This will be cute on you!_

_P.S. Not as cute as it was on me, though!_

– _Sherry"_

Meredy chuckled a bit, shaking her head.

She stepped into the shower and started cleansing her body with the water. As the water dripped down to the drainage, she also felt that whatever worries she had were washed away. For a while, when she was eating dinner with the two cousins, she remembered a semblance of what it felt to have a family. Even if it's just for a while, she felt thankful that she really wasn't alone, even without the presence of Ultear and Jellal.

When she finished showering, she went to the mirror and gathered her hair to one side; she then twisted her trunk to see her back clearly. On the reflection, she saw the emblem of Crime Sorcière, which she attempted to touch with one hand, making it seem like she was hugging herself. In a twisted sort of way, it appeared funny; what she was seeing on the mirror was the embodiment of Crime Sorcière at that very moment. Being the only one left standing, somehow, the mark served as a reminder for her that she was tied with the responsibility of fulfilling the purposes of the guild.

 _But what was the purpose of the guild?_  She found herself asking.  _To defeat dark guilds, right?_

In the mirror, she saw the reflection of Ultear, who spoke _. True, we defeat dark guilds—that's what we tasked amongst ourselves_.  _But why do we do it?_

 _Because we know it's a way of repenting for the sins that we have done,_ Meredy said back.  _But what if I don't have the enough power to defeat dark guilds anymore?_   _Is there another way of repenting for our sins? How do I gauge if what I had done is already enough to be forgiven?_

She still had a lot of questions.

But the image of Ultear only smiled and said nothing, and gradually faded, until all she could see was the reflection of herself.

Meredy moved away from the mirror and dressed. After folding her used clothing, she turned the door knob to see that all the lights were turned off, with only the lights of the bathroom illuminating the place. She assumed that the cousins were already sleeping in their rooms.

She walked her way towards the couch and lied down, taking the blanket prepared for her by Sherry.

With the darkness of the night, all she could remember were the several unanswered questions that lingered in her mind.

"Why did you have to go so soon, Ur?" she whispered, as she began sobbing quietly. At that moment, she felt that her previous thoughts of being with others were just superficial, and that deep down, she was still truly alone.


	9. Family

Meredy was the first to wake up, opening her eyes when she felt the rays of the sun hitting her face through the window. Her eyes felt tired, as she realized that she had cried herself to sleep the night before. Slowly moving to the bathroom, she then washed her face and avoided looking at the mirror, afraid it could trigger another gush of questions in her mind.

She immediately sat back on the couch in silence, appreciating the calmness of the dawn as she closed her eyes. Clearly, she could hear the singing of the morning birds, the swaying of the trees from the early breeze, as well as the buzzing of the bees from the hive hanging under a branch, as if she herself was standing outside. It was a gift, but it was something she could only do when she was alone or when she was assured that silence overpowered noise, or else she might take in more than she was able to handle. She heaved a sigh, and donned her earmuffs.

In front of the couch she was sitting on, a small table stood, with an elegant flower vase on the middle. Beside it was a purple pocket book which was placed face down. Curious, she reached for the book and browsed a few pages.

" _A love story_ ," she thought, as she scanned through the pages. For a while, she found herself engrossed with the contents of the book, going page by page to see what was going to happen next.

"That's one of my favourite stories," a voice from behind said.

Meredy turned around to see smiling Chelia in her nightclothes, with the latter still scratching her eyes.

"Oh, good morning! I hope you don't mind me reading this."

"No, of course not. Feel free to read!" Chelia exclaimed, her voice glad but notably groggy. The girl walked from her spot to sit beside her. "Do you like romance novels too?"

Meredy chuckled, turning her head to the younger girl beside her. "Well, I can't really say that I do. This is the first romantic story I've ever read, after all."

When Chelia gave her a disbelieving look, Meredy opted to explain.

"Throughout my life all I've read are books that have something to do with magic. My previous master said that books like these are a waste of time," Meredy shared, recalling a time where Hades reprimanded her when he caught her taking out a "useless book" and not studying about lost magic instead.

"Really?" A look of shock appeared on Chelia's face, and when Meredy nodded in response, she could only give her a sad look. "I see…"

"Don't be too sad about that, though!" Meredy grinned at her. "It's in the past, right?"

Chelia gave a weak smile in response. Then, she briefly recalled something that Meredy said the previous night.

" _I see. It must be nice to be with your family._ "

The look on Meredy's face at the moment was similar to when she said it last night. It looked like she was concealing something, and it made Chelia sad, somehow. "I guess so."

When Meredy only smiled in response, Chelia took it as a cue to go.

"Well, you just go on reading that. If you don't mind, I'll just freshen up in the bathroom," the Sky God Slayer said as she stood up.

"Of course, go ahead!" Meredy replied, which made the younger girl finally walk away towards the bathroom.

Soon, Sherry woke up too and prepared breakfast for them. Meredy assisted her, which the latter accepted, grateful that she had someone to talk to about Ren again. Similar to the previous night, Meredy only nodded and laughed along her stories. The three of them ate together, with the same love topic that Meredy thought they never seemed to get tired of. They also helped each other in washing the dishes, and afterwards, the Maguilty mage sat on the couch to continue reading the book.

A few minutes later, a knock was heard from the main apartment door.

"Chelia, open the door!" Sherry shouted from the bathroom.

"I'm still fixing my hair!" the younger mage yelled back, still in her room.

Meredy laughed a bit, hearing their exchange. "I'll get it," she offered, as she opened the door marginally to check who it was. It was Lyon.

"Good morning," the ice mage greeted casually, to which Meredy greeted him back, opening the door wider.

"Who is it?" Sherry voiced, still scrubbing her hair.

"It's me," Lyon answered back in a louder voice, as he began removing his shoes.

"Lyon?!" Chelia exclaimed in full volume, followed by a screech due to something, or someone falling on the floor. "Kyaah~!"

Lyon ignored the familiar outburst and proceeded to sit on the couch, while Meredy followed him, sitting on the empty spot beside him.

"How are you?" he said, trying to start a conversation. "Did you sleep well?"

"I'm fine," she replied, giving him a smile, "And yes, I slept well last night."

Lyon clearly saw through her lie, though, noticing how swollen her eyes were, but chose to say nothing on the matter. He began rummaging through his bag, and Meredy slightly turned her head in an attempt to see what he was looking for.

"Tie your hair into a bun or something," Lyon instructed, still searching, which she followed immediately.

The next thing she knew, Lyon was holding a black bonnet in front of her.

"Your ear mufflers?" He said, pointing to his ear, asking her whether she wanted to remove it or not.

"No, I'll leave them on," she replied, to which Lyon only shrugged. He placed the bonnet on her head, over the earmuffs, making only the pink fringes framing her face visible while covering the rest of her hair.

"What is happening here?!" Chelia exclaimed questioningly, arriving just in time to witness him crowning Meredy with a bonnet. The scenario looked too intimate for her liking!

Lyon merely lifted an eyebrow. "She needs to be unnoticed. I felt that there's a need for her to have a disguise."

Chelia disregarded what he said and stomped her way beside Meredy, looking betrayed. The Maguilty mage only appeared baffled, mouthing to her, " _it's not what you think!_ " to which the younger girl only "hmpf"-ed in response.

The door to the bathroom opened, and out came Sherry, who was wearing a black sundress. She was still drying her hair with a towel. "Oh, looks like everyone's here!" Her face wrinkled upon seeing Meredy. "What's with the ugly bonnet, though?"

Lyon looked slightly offended. "It's a disguise."

Sherry didn't look amused. "Still ugly, though."

"Um, I don't mind it!" Meredy interjected, trying to lighten the mood, but was squeaked when she turned to Chelia, who was glaring daggers at her.

"I'll try to search something to salvage her looks," Sherry said, waving her hand dismissively, "Wait here."

When Sherry finally left for her room, Chelia squeezed herself on the spot between Lyon and Meredy, causing the two to shift further away.

"There's another chair here," Lyon irritatingly remarked, pointing at the single sofa perpendicular to the couch.

Chelia ignored him, shifting her position more comfortably. She saw it as the opportunity to finally ask that about her. "So, Meredy, how's your family?"

Lyon was stunned. Knowing a gist of what happened to her mother-figure and how Meredy was greatly affected by it, he silently scolded the younger girl. "Chelia…!"

A look of confusion flashed on Chelia's face upon hearing Lyon's tone, but she felt herself turning pale when Meredy simply replied with a smile, "They're dead."

In all honesty, the Sky God Slayer didn't really mean any harm when she asked it. Well, she wanted to know something about her which she may use to tease her or something, but she didn't anticipate that type of answer from her. Whatever hatred or betrayal she felt towards the older girl in front of her were replaced with regret, and seeing the sad smile on Meredy's face, she even felt guiltier.

" _I see. It must be nice to be with your family._ " The statement echoed in Chelia's mind. Her shoulders were shaking, and she refused to look at Meredy out of shame. "I'm sorry, I didn't know..."

Meredy placed a hand gently on the younger mage's shoulder. "Don't be. It's fine, really." When the Sky God Slayer lifted her head, showing her tearful eyes, Meredy gave her a smile. "Don't cry, I'm really okay on my own."

But Lyon saw through her again. She was lying, but he knew she was just trying to be strong, at least for the younger girl.

"You know, we should conceal the colour of her eyes too!" A voice unexpectedly said, entering the room, and then paused when the heavy atmosphere was felt at that moment. "I—erm, am I interrupting something?"

Lyon and Meredy turned their heads to see Sherry, who was holding several items. Chelia was unmoving, still opting to lower her head.

"No, you aren't," the Maguilty mage replied nonchalantly, trying to make the situation lighter by changing the topic. "What did you say? Sorry we didn't hear you well."

Sherry simply raised an eyebrow at her cousin, who wasn't looking at her, not really noticing the miserable look on the latter's face. "Well, as I was saying, we should conceal the colour of your eyes too," she remarked, bringing up a pair of blue tinted glasses with round frames. "Plus, you could cover your face a bit without being too suspicious with this!" She brought out a woven grey scarf, swaying it around excitedly.

"Seems like you really put some effort into thinking this," Lyon remarked, smirking.

"Of course!" Sherry proudly said, placing a hand to her chest. "Now, come here, Meredy!" The girl conformed and allowed the much older female mage to fix her up.

Lyon watched them from the sides. Looking at Sherry, he was glad that she finally realized that he had no romantic feelings whatsoever for her through the years. Though he was indeed flattered that someone felt for him that way, he wasn't really a fan of unhealthy relationships such as that. He'd much prefer that they could have a normal conversation such as this without her getting carried away with unreciprocated emotions. He probably had to thank that Ren Akatsuki guy, though. " _Annoying Blue Pegasus punks_ ," he snorted.

"Wait! There's something missing!" Sherry said suddenly, grabbing Meredy's hand immediately as they ran towards another room, giving her no time to complain. Lyon was left alone in the living room with Chelia, who still wasn't moving.

The younger mage felt a hand resting on her head.

"Don't think about it much," Lyon started saying, "I guess it was just a simple question said at a wrong time. I'm sure you didn't really mean any harm." He saw her biting her lip and then turned her head away from him. He just stifled a chuckle. "Just apologize later," he said, messing the top of her hair with his hand.

"Hey, stop that," she spoke finally, face appearing flushed. She attempted to stop his hand from making any further mess. "It took me a while to fix my hair!"

Lyon let out a laugh, and Chelia tried suppressing hers, but found herself laughing along in the end. The merriment was interrupted when both of them heard a voice.

"Chelia! Come here!" yelled Sherry from her room, which made the younger mage turn to Lyon. She gave him a worried look.

"It'll be fine," he assured her, and then waved a hand, "Just go, so we can leave as soon as possible."

The Sky God Slayer appeared hesitant at first, but nodded. Hearing another annoyed " _CHELIA_!" from the other room, the said girl immediately jumped from her seat and frolicked away. "I-I'm coming!"

"Girls," he said, shaking his head. Only the gods of Earthland could say what the blazes they were doing in that room at that moment, but then again, he thought that he'll found out soon anyway. He was actually pretty assured that everything would go smoothly as they go to Magnolia. Since Meredy would be with them when they go to the festival, it would make her less suspicious, and if ever they were questioned who she was, they could say that she was Chelia's distant cousin. They both have pink hair too, right? Lyon thought that the reasoning was flawless, as he smirked confidently.

The smirk then collapsed into a frown, as he remembered that Chelia still had an issue with Meredy. He sighed. It has to be resolved soon, he thought.

"So, Lyon, what can you say?" he heard Sherry's voice from behind.

Turning around, he saw the three girls, but he focused his attention on the one in the middle—Meredy. Well, she definitely looked better compared to being just bonnet-clad. She was wearing a black cardigan over her rose-coloured dress with a high slit, showing her black stockings, and she had the grey scarf around her neck. Her pink fringes were also styled better, framing her face more, and it appeared that she had some make up on; the eye liner was the give-away.

For some reason, she reminded him of Juvia—well, a pink-themed Juvia. He didn't know what that was supposed to imply, if anything, but he convinced himself that it was just probably the conservative, winter get-up which the water mage seemed to like.

"Wear the glasses!" Sherry instructed, and the girl immediately obeyed, donning the blue-tinted glasses. "So, is it good?"

Well, she didn't remind him of Juvia that much now. She just looks like a sophisticated winter fashionista. "She doesn't look like the brat I first met, so I guess that's good?"

Brat? Meredy gave him an unamused look, but she chose to ignore the statement, stating what's on her mind instead. "I don't feel like myself too, so the disguise is effective, I guess?"

"Good. Let's get going, then." The ice mage stood up from the couch. "Are you coming with us, Sherry?"

"No, I have some other plans today," she stated with an affectionate look on her face, holding one side of her face.

Lyon assumed it had something to do with the Blue Pegasus guy.

"I guess this is farewell, then." Meredy faced the woman older than her. "Thank you for everything."

"Of course, it was nice meeting you," Sherry gave her a girly grin. "Maybe we'll see each other again soon."

"Yeah, maybe we will," Meredy replied weakly, smiling back.

The three proceeded to step out of the apartment, waving goodbye at Doll Magic mage. When they were about a distance away from the apartment, Lyon started feeling awkward atmosphere. No one was speaking, and a tense feeling lingered. The walk towards the train station was basically uneventful and rather uncomfortable at the same time.

When they reached the station, several people were already there, waiting for the first train. It was also then when Lyon found an opportunity to have them talk. "I'll buy the tickets. Wait for me here, the two of you," he quickly said. He saw the complaining look on Chelia's face, but he didn't give her a chance to respond since he immediately ran towards a faraway booth, efficiently evading the people on his way. She was left with Meredy.

" _Lyooooon_!" she whined in her mind, stomping one leg on the ground. She may like him, but that didn't mean that he could get away with whatever he wanted! She wasn't ready for this yet!

"The weather is nice today, isn't it," Meredy said casually, as if nothing really bothered her mind, unlike the Sky God Slayer.

Anxious, Chelia looked at her at the corner of her eye, and saw that the older mage wasn't exactly facing her; she was instead looking at the sky with a peaceful smile on her face. Chelia was not able to say anything at that moment, as she found herself wondering, is she really a criminal? Because if she really was, Chelia found it hard to believe. To imagine someone like her in jail, it seemed very wrong.

"Is everything okay, Chelia?" Meredy gave her a worried look, which made the younger mage feel worse about herself.

Meredy had been nothing but nice to her, but there she was, being horrible to her...

"I'm fine," Chelia managed to tell her, even if it was evident that she was feeling otherwise.

The Maguilty mage felt even more worried, but at that moment, a train just came to a stop by the platform, signifying the first trip of that day. Meredy tried to look for Lyon from her spot, but didn't see him from afar. To make matters worse, a crowd of people started to march quickly towards their position, trying to enter the door of the train near their area. This led to them drowning into a sea of people, which bothered Meredy since some were being rude and were pushing her roughly. She managed to escape and push herself away from the crowd, but felt something was missing.

A familiar yelp was heard from time to time, and Meredy immediately dove back to the crowd, looking for a little girl. "Chelia!"

Chelia knew that she was a very capable mage, but she still had the disadvantage when it came to physical strength and size. At that very moment, she was helplessly being pushed from person to person, letting out a shriek of pain each time. She tried going against the flow, but everyone was just much bigger than she was.

Just then, a helping hand literally pulled her away from her spot and subsequently placed her between her arms and body, effectively shielding her from the hits and blows of the mob. Chelia couldn't see who her saviour was, though she already knew her identity. Slowly, both of them managed to pass through the crowd, as the number of people also diminished.

"Are you okay?" Meredy inquired, kneeling down to her level. "Sorry I wasn't able to get you immediately..."

Chelia suddenly tackled Meredy into a hug, surprising the latter. "No! I'm the one who should be sorry! I was horrible to you and you're being really nice and I was too insensitive about your family and I was a bit jealous and overprotective of Lyon but you weren't really doing anything but I'm just sorry!" She held the startled mage tighter, saying the next words softer this time, "I'm sorry..."

In truth, Meredy was still startled by her outburst. Chelia had been speaking too fast, but Meredy was able to remember a gist of what she said. She didn't realize how affected the girl was with the recent events. As she found herself hugging the younger mage back, the corners of her mouth lifted up to a smile. "Chelia..."

"I'm so sorry, Meredy," the Sky God Slayer repeated, still clinging onto her shoulder.

Meredy gently let go of her arms, holding out her hands onto Chelia's shoulders. "You know, someone lectured me about giving a chance to others," she said, recalling a certain silver-haired individual, "Why don't I just you a chance too?"

Chelia's eyes only twinkled in surprise, gaping at the girl before her.

"And that thing about Lyon; there's really nothing going on between us. To be honest, given the situation I'm in, I really can't afford to think that way. I don't really think that I have the time, nor am I deserving for a feeling such as love like those in the romantic novels..." The Maguilty mage grinned. "And don't you remember what I said earlier? I said I'm okay on my own. "

A shocked expression drew its ways to Chelia's face. "On your own? I don't believe you! Nobody can live on their own!" The girl stuck her arms in front, placing her tiny hands firmly on Meredy's shoulders. "I can be your little sister, if you want!"

It was then Meredy's turn to widen her eyes in surprise. Now that she thought about it, she had always been the youngest in the group-be it Grimoire Heart or Crime Sorciere. The idea was very foreign to her, but she didn't think it was too bad. She smiled, placing a hand on Chelia's head. "I'd appreciate that."

The Sky God Slayer, pleased with her answer, beamed a smile, hugging the older girl again.

"What's with all the cheesiness here?" A male voice asked innocently, seemingly unaware of the events that occurred.

The two turned around to see Lyon, holding three tickets in his hands.

"And what the hell happened to your hair, Chelia?" The ice mage sniggered, pointing at the younger mage's disheveled hair with unevenly-levelled pigtails.

Touching her head, Chelia turned red in embarrassment and frustration. "This is your fault, Lyon!" She pointed angrily at the ice mage. "What took you so long?!"

As Lyon saw Meredy chuckling at the scene before her, he could only laugh along in response to the furious girl. "At least, everything's okay now," he thought, as he tried to pry off the younger girl who was trying to maim him.

Several minutes later, meanwhile, in Magnolia, a newly-built stage was produced, and was then being checked on for possible defects by some chosen members of Fairy Tail.

"That was a relief." Wendy wiped a sweat off her forehead, looking at the stage before her. "Thankfully, we managed to finish this before our scheduled programs for the day."

"We could've finished it earlier if it weren't for those guys fighting again." Lucy eyed the two troublemakers, who were also the reason why the stage was destroyed in the first place. At the moment, the two were two tied together in a bent iron tube and were being lectured by Erza.

"We're friends right now, you see?" Natsu nervously tried to place an arm around Gray's shoulder, but failed since they were tied too tight.

"That's right! Will you please let us go now?" A similarly nervous Gray smiled at the scarlet-haired woman before them.

Erza watched them carefully at first, before saying, "Gajeel," which prompted the said dragon slayer to release the steel ropes binding the two.

Gajeel was definitely not amused that someone was ordering him around, but he knew better than to get to the bad side of Erza. He immediately left upon seeing a merchandise booth of metal utensils around the corner.

"Make sure to stay out of trouble, especially in this festival, or else..." Erza's eyes suddenly glinted with threat.

"Yes ma'am!" the two simultaneously said, scurrying away from the Requip mage.

Natsu immediately went to Lucy and Wendy's area, where he complained to the Stellar Spirit mage about how Erza's torture made him hungry.

"Why are you telling me that?! You already ate all of my food in my apartment!" Lucy snapped, yelling angrily at Natsu. Wendy tried to calm the two down but her meek voice was overpowered by theirs.

"Does anyone have a watch? Need to know the time, I have to meet with someone," Gray asked in general, looking around the area.

All of the sudden, a certain blue-haired water mage popped out of a bush and ran towards Gray. "Who does Gray-sama need to meet and why?!"

Gray didn't look surprised at Juvia's sudden appearance but he wasn't thrilled either. She still had some twigs stuck in her hair but he didn't bother pointing it out. "Just Lyon. Told me he had something urgent and important to say."

Juvia looked startled. "Lyon-sama?!" Her eyes suddenly widened in horror. "Something important? Could it be that he would finally proclaim his love for you?" She started circling around in panic. "Hasn't he given up his feelings for you?! Why?!"

"Clearly you're still misunderstanding," Gray could only say, shaking his head disappointedly at the water mage, who didn't seem to hear what he had just said.

"Something urgent and important, eh? Very intriguing," Erza said as she touched her chin in contemplation, approaching Gray.

Gray looked over at the scarlet-haired mage. "Oh yeah, almost forgot. Apparently you need to come with me too, Erza."

Juvia became too depressed. "Even Erza-san is now included in this complicated love pandemonium?!"

The two only ignored her wails.

Before any of them could say anything else, another voice was heard from the crowd. "Wendy?"

The Sky Dragon Slayer, who was still attempting to stop Natsu and Lucy, turned around upon hearing her name, searching for the source. She didn't immediately see the person, but the next thing she knew, a gust of pink attacked her...

But wait, she was actually being hugged.

"Chelia?!" she said in surprise, glancing sideways at the girl close to her.

"Wendy! I missed you!" the Sky God Slayer exclaimed, hugging her tightly.

"Wait, if Chelia's here..." Gray voiced, searching the crowd for someone with silver hair. A hand from behind then tapped his shoulder.

"I'm right here, idiot." A snicker followed.

Gray slowly turned around, smirking at the guy behind him. "Lyon."

A figure wearing a pink dress approached the water mage, who was still sulking on the ground. "Juvia?"

The water mage's mood abruptly shifted from depression to surprise. She whispered in disbelief, "Meredy?!"

The Maguilty mage shushed her with a smile, still wary about being caught, but still couldn't help but hug her gently. The water mage hugged her back, her mood filled with glee this time.

The two ice mages then shook hands, looks of gratefulness on their faces.

The four of them could only manage to say each other, "It's good to see you again."

 


	10. Games

Gray crossed his arms. "So you mean to say a magic-absorbing dark gate appeared…"

"And probably sucked Jellal into it?" Natsu continued, looking at the pink-haired mage before them.

Meredy simply nodded, eyes facing the floor. Retelling the events wasn't really a comfortable thing for her. She could not bring herself to look into anybody's eyes, especially Erza's. At that time, the Requip mage seemed to have an unreadable expression on her face.

Earlier, after saying their greetings by the stage, Erza instructed them to speak of the matters in the Fairy Tail guild house instead. Aware of Meredy's status, she was afraid that they may cause a fuss in such a crowded place, and it didn't help that there were probably some Magic Council members roaming about. Though she and Gray were the only ones they intended to spoke to, Natsu and Juvia ended up coming along. Lucy and Wendy, along with Chelia, chose to be left by the stage for last minute preparations.

At that moment, Erza felt her stomach churning. She actually already had a bad feeling upon sighting Meredy without the other members of Crime Sorcière, particularly a certain blue-haired male. There was definitely something wrong, and seeing Meredy alone, something "urgent and important" did not sound like good news.

And the minute Meredy started sharing her experience, her assumptions were confirmed. She was also aware that Meredy was probably stating the best case scenario—that was, Jellal was just missing, and not dead.

"I see," Gray uttered as he contemplated on what she said, "I'm curious though, why are you with Lyon?"

"It's a long story," Lyon answered immediately for her, who was sitting beside the Maguilty mage.

Meredy smiled a little. "True, it is. But he's the one who helped me the most in these circumstances. For that I'm really thankful to him." She didn't notice how the statement made Lyon's face flush pink.

"Juvia is just glad that you're safe, Meredy." The water mage approached her. "With the Magic Council around, it's good that you're not wearing your usual clothes too. Juvia didn't recognize you straightaway."

Lyon observed the brief widening of Meredy's eyes upon hearing what Juvia said, but the girl simply replied a "yeah" while avoiding the water mage's gaze.

"Um, sorry to interrupt!" another voice entered. They all turned their head towards the guild house entrance to see Lucy. "Master Makarov ordered me to fetch you guys since the program is starting in a few." She offered an apologetic glance to Meredy and Lyon.

"Sorry, Meredy, but I guess we'll talk more about this later," Gray said, standing up. The other Fairy Tail mages also did the same.

Meredy also stood up. "O-of course! Please don't apologize. It's me who is asking the favour, anyway."

It was then when Erza spoke unexpectedly. "You too should try to enjoy the event for today. We'll report what we have learned right away to master once we see him, so perhaps later we'll find out more about that dark guild."

The Fairy Tail mages started walking away, but Meredy briskly forwarded her steps to follow them. "Wait, Erza!" she said, to which the Requip mage turned her head. "About Jellal, I-I'm..."

"There's nothing to apologize for. None of these is your fault." Erza gave her a small smile, though Meredy knew that she was only giving her a strong front since Erza's eyes were gleaming. "I'm sure  _that man…_ will be fine." The Requip mage nodded her head once, excusing herself, and started walking away again.

Meredy could only watch her retreating form, still feeling remorse in her heart.

"And you know," Natsu interjected beside her, startling Meredy, "I know Jellal is a tough guy. I'm sure he's okay." He gave her a wide grin before sauntering off to his comrades.

"Meredy." Juvia placed a hand gently on her shoulder. "Smile. Juvia knows that things are probably difficult for you at the moment, but we are here for you; remember that." The water mage also gave her an encouraging smile. "As Erza-san said, you should enjoy the festival too." She squeezed her shoulder a little, before running off to trail her guild mates.

She was left staring at the empty guild entrance. "Here…for me…" Meredy placed a hand on her chest, subconsciously echoing the words said to her.

"Exactly as I told you before, right?"

Meredy glanced at the owner of the voice, who stopped walking when he was beside her.

"Now, let's enjoy the festival, shall we?" Lyon turned to face her, giving her the last smile that she needed to convince herself to let go of the negative emotions overcoming her.

Finally, she smiled back. "Okay."

The two headed out from the building, and made their way towards the festival grounds. Several people were going over the booths lined up with different games and items displayed on each corner.

A jolly female voice boomed throughout the grounds through the magical speakers on each junction, "Good morning everybody! This is Mirajane! In a few minutes, the program of the second day of the Fairy Tail Festival will commence! Those who want front row views near the stage, I suggest you already approach this area before the seats get taken!" Just then, rowdy footsteps were heard going towards the stage. "After our short program, special booths and rides will be opened! Why are they special, you ask? It's because they'll be manned by the Fairy Tail members themselves! Stay tuned and see you around!"

When the announcement ended, Lyon started speaking. "Would you like to watch the program? Chelia probably saved seats for us."

"N-no!" Meredy said immediately, causing Lyon to raise a confused eyebrow. "Well, I would actually love to, but I don't think I should stay in one place for long…"

Lyon slowly gave her a look of understanding. "That makes sense. Should we go over the booths, then?"

She was still showing him an anxious look. "No, perhaps you should go alone. Maybe I'll find a place with less crowds and hide there or—"

"Weren't you the one who said that you shouldn't stay in one place for long?" he countered instantly, getting annoyed with her reluctance. Her eyes briefly widened with his retort, and it was then when he noticed how frightened she looked. Seeing it, his features gradually softened. "Look, you have nothing to be afraid of. I'm here with you, right?"

Through her blue-tinted lenses, she felt his sincerity as she glanced back at the black orbs looking at her. What he said was a big contradiction for her; she wanted to point out that it was exactly because  _he_  was with  _her_  that she was feeling afraid—afraid of his involvement with someone like her. But then again, what he said made sense; it would be harder if she was cornered in one place alone.

She looked away from him.

She had already faced many circumstances when she had to gamble with the choices she had made, and in the end, she was really never able to predict what would happen afterwards. Besides, she really had to stay with him until at least hearing what Fairy Tail had to say about her situation. Though still feeling a bit uncertain, she finally nodded. "Alright then."

Satisfied with her answer at last, he began walking ahead of her, though he made sure that she was following him. They passed by several merchandise booths before stopping over at a booth labelled 'Balloons and Darts.'

"This looks fun." Lyon advanced towards the table and urged Meredy to come closer, to which she did.

Meredy glanced at the stand before them. The booth had two levels—easy and difficult. The easy one had the typical setting of the game wherein several small balloons were lined up on a cork board, and was about two meters away from the table. The prizes for the easy stage looked nothing special, at least for Meredy.

The prizes for the difficult round, however, appeared more valuable, though Meredy cringed at the setup. Unlike the easy one, the balloons were lined with wide spaces between them, and the distance between the balloon board and the table were roughly five times the distance of one in the easy round.

"That looks impossible," Meredy commented, scratching the side of her cheek.

Lyon only smirked. "Is that a challenge?"

Meredy gave him a silly grin. "Let's see what you can do, then."

Lyon tried the easy round first, and as expected, he ended up winning pretty easily. He was able to pop five balloons consecutively, thus earning him a hand-sewn Exceed keychain. Lyon was feeling pretty fired up and looked over at Meredy if she too was feeling the same, but saw that she seemed preoccupied with the surroundings. "Hey." He threw the keychain at her, which she reflexively caught. "Let's go to the difficult round."

She only bobbed her head, after glancing back at the surroundings once more, as if she was anticipating the presence of someone else. Lyon noted this but dragged her towards the next round.

Lyon analysed the sight before him. Similar to the easy round, he needed to hit five consecutive balloons to obtain the grandest prize. There was a sign indicating that if the player was able to hit a total of five balloons using less than five darts, they would get a special prize. Whatever that special prize was, it wasn't revealed, but it got Lyon's curiosity. The conditions for it didn't seem attainable, however.

"How do you even hit five balloons with less than five darts?" Lyon sensed Meredy only shrugging in response, but he figured that he should at least try getting the grandest prize. One could choose among a wide variety of large cute stuffed animals, apparently. Not that he liked stuff toys—it was more for his pride, actually.

Lyon threw the first dart, but due to the wide distance between the table and the balloon board, it only landed on the floor, about halfway from the board. A teasing snigger was heard from Meredy, and the ice mage turned red in embarrassment. He threw the next dart with more force, but still, due to the distance, his accuracy was lessened and the dart only landed on an empty space on the cork board. All the remaining darts landed on anything but the balloons.

Meredy noticed how Lyon fisted his palms in frustration. "Whatever happened to the challenge?"

"Shut up, it's not over yet." He handed some more jewels to the happy owner of the booth. He clutched the five new darts on his hands.

Meredy observed how he transferred the four darts on his non-dominant hand, and started twirling the remaining dart inside the other. Meredy's eyes widened when she saw an icy aura engulfing his right hand. She suddenly realized what he was attempting to do, but before she could stop him, he already swung his right arm forward, an arrow of ice coming out of his hand. The ice ray propelled the dart towards one balloon, effectively popping it.

The owner could only gape in shock.

"That's cheating!" Meredy exclaimed, flailing her hands in front of her.

"No, it isn't," he calmly replied back, "there aren't any rules saying that magic isn't allowed. And using ice, I have better accuracy." Lyon faced the table again, and shot the remaining four darts in a similar way using ice magic. He popped four balloons with ease.

The owner was still shocked, but weakly motioned an arm towards the stuffed toys anyway, indicating that he had won.

"What did I tell you?" He sneered positively, grabbing a random pink stuffed toy and handing it to Meredy afterwards.

She smiled at him, cuddling the stuffed toy in her arms. "You still haven't obtained the special prize, though."

Lyon flinched. "That challenge is…impossible."

Meredy raised an eyebrow and closed her eyes, as if brooding on something. After a few seconds, her eyes brightened up. "No, it isn't. Let me try."

Lyon snorted in disbelief but decided to humour her anyway. He paid for the next set of game to the bewildered owner, and took the stuffed toy from her. He handed her the darts. "Here."

She grabbed a dart from him. "Thanks, but I need just one."

He gave her a disbelieving look but grasped the remaining four darts anyway, just in case.

Meredy lifted her hand behind her for momentum, and as she threw the dart, she consequently casted, "Maguilty Sodom!"

The dart was then engulfed with a teal energy shaped like a blade, and on its sides were two pairs of similarly-shaped teal blades making its way towards the balloons. All five targeted balloons burst at the same time.

Both Lyon's and the owner's jaws dropped.

Meredy only beamed mischievously at them. "Five balloons, less than five darts, right?"

Lyon was the first to recover, seeing the playful look on her face.  _"So it seems that you are capable of making an expression like that…"_  he said to himself, realizing that it was the first time she saw her like that.

The owner, whose jaws were still opened, could only hand Meredy a small white envelope, before closing his booth, mumbling how he should state specific rules next time or else some crazy mages would end up hounding his prizes.

Lyon was too absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice Meredy walking close to him.

"I wonder what's inside this envelope," she remarked, not noticing how Lyon was in a pensive state.

Her words snapped him back to reality. "A-ah," he gazed down at the paper between her hands. "Cash prize, maybe?"

"That's a boring 'special' prize then," she uttered disappointedly, "but jewels are jewels. That's still acceptable." She was about to open the envelope when she heard hushed whispers from the people around them.

"Hey, man, the Magic Council's approaching. Don't do anything stupid and be quiet!"

"Yeah, right. As if we'll end up in jail if we're too noisy. It's not like we're criminals, anyway!"

Lyon noticed how she was visibly shaken with the strangers' exchange. He glanced sideways to see some members of the Magic Council walking in the middle of the street. He exhaled an irritated puff at them, before shoving the large stuffed toy in Meredy's hands and placing his arm over her shoulders.

Meredy lifted her head in confusion but Lyon swung his head downwards, silently ordering her to continue lowering her head. She lightly nodded and shielded her face with the stuffed toy.

Lyon looked over at the approaching councilmen and was stunned to see one of them who was squinting his eyes at him. The councilman had dark hair with three distinctive scars on the left side of his face. The ice mage found himself glaring back, before the councilman withdrew his eyes and opted to look forward.

When they were a good distance away, he let go of her shoulder. "They're gone. Let's go to the opposite direction—"

"No, I should leave," she said with a glum tone.

He couldn't see her face since it was hidden behind the stuffed toy. "I thought we already settled this earlier."

She hugged the stuffed toy tighter. "No, you don't understand…"

"Why?" Lyon's eyebrows scrunched in confusion. He tried to recall the previous events before they saw Gray and the others. His eyes widened in realization. "Did something actually happen earlier?"

Meredy lowered the toy to look at him, and then nodded. Her green orbs were terrified.

Alarmed, Lyon started guiding her to a safer place with less people. "What's wrong?" They stopped at the corner of a street. "Did someone from the Magic Council recognize you?"

She clutched the stuffed toy hard. "Yes."

_When they arrived in Magnolia, they immediately followed the path towards the festival grounds; it was easily discernible due to the colourful signs as well as the jolly music playing around the corner. As they followed the flow of people going in town, Chelia was already displaying her amusement seeing lots of different prizes from several booths._

" _Oooh! There's a teddy bear that I like!" the girl excitedly exclaimed._

_Meredy turned to the Sky God Slayer, smiling. "Why don't you try and win it?"_

" _You bet I will! The two of you go on ahead, I'll catch up with you!" The Sky God Slayer then frolicked her way towards a booth which seemed to have something to do with a bow and arrow._

_Meredy couldn't help but chuckle. "Will she be okay?"_

" _Yeah, she'll manage," Lyon gave her a confident smirk." Knowing her, she'll probably use Sky magic to perfectly hit the target."_

_Before Meredy could react any further, a high-pitched shriek was heard from behind them. "Is that Lyon-sama of Lamia Scale?!"_

_Both turned around to see a bunch of women marching their way towards the ice mage. Meredy hastily sidestepped to avoid colliding with the stampede._

" _It is him! The powerful Ice-Make mage from Lamia Scale!" One eagerly shouted._

_Another one retorted, "He really is more handsome in person!"_

" _Uwaaah! So cool!"_

_Lyon appeared to be distraught with the sudden attention he was gaining and seemed to be asking help from Meredy, but she simply shooed a hand away, telling him to entertain them first. She saw him grunt in response, before sinking in the horde of fan girls._

_Meredy sighed, observing how Lyon was being harassed, sort of. "I never knew he was this famous. I should consider myself lucky, then."_

_She surveyed the surroundings to check booths which she could preoccupy herself with while waiting for the ice mage. She focused her eyes on one booth which involved guessing what was inside a can by shaking it, relying on the sense of hearing in order to win the prize. She was pretty good with that stuff, so she drew near towards the booth. Before she could reach it though, she noticed the presence of several persons wearing white cloaks approaching._

_The Magic Council._

_She immediately turned her head away from them and focused her eyes on the cans arranged on the table. She waited until every single one of them had passed by, and when she no longer felt their presence behind her, she turned her head towards their direction to double check. Her eyes widened in panic when she saw one of them looking directly at her._

_He had three scars on his face._

_It was Doranbolt._

_She recalled the time when the councilman approached her and Jellal after the Grand Magic Games. While their last encounter had not been unfriendly, she was unsure whether he was a friend or a foe. While he did let them escape that time, Doranbolt assured them it was only a one-time thing, so she could not help but feel wary of his presence._

_Quickly, she turned her head back to the cans and adjusted her shades, hoping that the disguise worked. To make herself less suspicious, she started speaking with the owner of the booth and asked for the instructions of the game._

_She was too focused on avoiding the gaze of the Magic Council member that she didn't even notice that the owner was done explaining. "…that's all that you need to do. Is that clear?"_

_Meredy's eyes blinked several times. "Y-yes!" She grabbed one can and was about to start shaking it when she heard a low male voice._

" _Would you please repeat the instructions?" the voice said._

_Meredy's fright came back. The voice was awfully familiar, and she glanced sideways to confirm her suspicions._

_Doranbolt was beside her._

_Panic clouding her senses, Meredy nervously dropped the can back to the table and excused herself from the owner's booth. In her haste, she accidentally hit more of the cans causing them to fall to the ground. The owner screamed profanities, causing Meredy to turn back regretfully and helped in picking up the cans on the floor. Much to her dismay, Doranbolt also aided them, causing the two of them to face one another. Meredy tried to conceal her face by lowering her head, hoping the bonnet, scarf, and glasses were working._

_Doranbolt suddenly stood up after picking up about five cans. "I'll have to excuse myself now." He walked away without speaking another word._

_Meredy felt great relief, ignoring the annoyed sentiments of the owner. As she picked the last can, she noticed a note attached to it._

_She bit her lip nervously, but read the message anyway._

" _Meet me at the alley around the corner now._ _Don't try to do anything funny."_

_Meredy felt the bags underneath her eyes drooping as she tried to repeat what was written on the note._

_Was it the end for her?_

_As she placed the last can on the table, she briskly paid the owner money worth one game, even though she hadn't started playing yet. She turned her head towards Lyon and her fan girls, and seeing that he was still rather preoccupied, Meredy hurriedly walked her way towards the meeting place mentioned without any second thoughts._

_She was already caught, and asking Lyon's help would make the matters worse; she couldn't involve him any longer._

_As she turned to the street described, she saw the scarred councilman with his arms crossed. He didn't look very friendly, and was looking at her intently._

_Hesitantly, she walked her way towards Doranbolt, head stooped low._

_When she was in front of him, he immediately started speaking. "There's too much people in this place. Let's not have this conversation here."_

_After making sure that no one was watching, he pulled her towards the alley. While Doranbolt still held her arm, Meredy suddenly felt herself being transported someplace else._

_The next thing she knew, she was surrounded by lots of trees. Of course, she had to be arrested in a secluded place. They couldn't cause a commotion in the festival grounds._

" _I'll make this quick," the councilman started saying._

_Meredy was expecting him to cast a spell to bind her hands, but was instead struck by words._

" _What happened to Jellal?"_

_She did not anticipate that. Was he really intending to just speak with her?_

" _Well?" He gave her an impatient look._

" _I, I don't know," she answered with all honesty._

_Before she knew it, she was already narrating the events with Portico Dusk to the councilman, ending her story until she was rescued by a mage friend. She didn't specify who it was, but thankfully, Doranbolt didn't seem to care for that mage's identity._

_She found herself asking him questions this time. "How did you know about Jellal?"_

_He crossed his arms with an unchanging facial expression. "We have been monitoring the activities of Crime_ _Sorcière. It has come to our attention that the guild suddenly became too quiet."_

" _I see," Meredy could only reply back._

_A moment of silence followed before Doranbolt spoke again. "You still haven't found Ultear, I assume?"_

_Meredy only lowered her head silently, which gave the councilman his answer._

_For the first time since their conversation, Doranbolt appeared to have a sympathetic look on his face. "What will happen to you, then? What's your plan?"_

_She answered again honestly, "I really don't know."_

_Doranbolt breathed out deeply. "I see."_

_After another round of silence, Doranbolt gently placed a hand on her shoulder. Upon contact, he had teleported the two of them back to the alley._

_Meredy was still speechless with the sudden events when the councilman started walking without saying anything. Confused with him, she began questioning him. "You're letting me get away again?"_

_Without looking at her, he uttered, "Don't get me wrong. I know your past and I know you were a criminal."_

_Meredy cringed slightly, and then saw that he was facing her again._

" _I'm giving you these choices. After this whole issue, you can either walk away and never show your face to this country ever again, leaving your 'friends' behind,"_

_Meredy displayed a horrified look on her face, yet Doranbolt seemed unaffected._

" _Or, you could always just surrender to the council."_

_With a swish of his cape, he strode away from her, going back to the festival grounds._

_When Meredy returned to her senses, she briskly walked back to the place where she left Lyon. To her surprise, Lyon wasn't surrounded by girls anymore. He was left speaking with another female, who appeared to be more respectable than the fan girls that attacked the ice mage earlier. She couldn't see her face, but she saw that the woman had long, straight dark hair and was wearing a pair of white blazer and skirt with black tights. The mystery woman had already bid her farewell to Lyon before Meredy could know her identity._

_Lyon noticed Meredy's presence as she drew nearer, and asked, "Hey, you just stayed here waiting for me?"_

_She gave him a weak smile. "Yes."_

"Yes, I lied to you back then." Meredy ended her statement, ashamed. She only told him that Doranbolt recognized her but let her get away in the end. She chose to leave out the details about the choices given to her by the councilman.

Lyon pondered on her situation. They couldn't let that happen again, and he knew not all members of the council would be nice enough to let her escape.

Meredy saw the troubled look on his face. "I'm sorry, I hope you bear with me much longer." She didn't really want to say those statements, but at present, she was left with no other choice but to be with him for safety. "Once we talk to the Fairy Tail members again later, we'll go our separate ways. You don't need to trouble yourself with me any longer." She gave him a sad smile.

For some reason, Lyon felt something was wrong. He was well-aware that by the end of the day, his 'mission' for her, which was to just escort her safely, would end, and that the next day, they would go back to how things were normally done.

But he still felt something was wrong. At that moment, he was overcome with the sense of responsibility over her—but for whatever reasons, he didn't know.

Perhaps he was already growing attached to this girl?

Lyon shook his head. This wasn't the same feelings he had before for Juvia.

He looked at her again.

She was still smiling sadly at him.

He fisted his hand. He was bothered once more.

He had to see it again.

A flash of her beaming smile when they were riding the train back then entered in his mind. The genuine smile that was very pleasing to his eyes.

"Don't be stupid. I'll be here for you, Meredy."

No matter what it took, he needed to see it again.


	11. Gondola

Her eyes were gaping at him in surprise.

" _Don't be stupid."_

" _I'll be here for you."_

" _Meredy."_

The last word struck her the most.

It was the first time he said her name.

But after a short while, the weight of his second statement hit her hard too. He might have only said a few words, but the thought of the mere sentence was heavy. If his words were indeed earnest, it was a big commitment, given her current standing. A huge doubt began clouding her mind regarding the sincerity of his statement, because it meant that he was willing to risk his life for her.

Who was she to Lyon for him to give her that privilege?

She found herself looking at him straight into the eyes, searching for reassurance that he was telling the truth.

But the answer immediately bounced back to her through his strong, unyielding gaze.

He had meant what he said.

Then everything else went weird. Her face was feeling hot, her stomach was acting funny, and her heart was beating faster. While she had experienced various emotions before through her Maguilty magic, the combination of the emotions she was having at that moment was very foreign to her. She had never been under a charm spell before, was this how it felt?

She immediately looked away.

"Just trust me on this," she heard him say. When she nodded, her arm was grabbed by him again, pulling her away from their previous spot. She didn't know where they were going, but he stopped when they came across a person.

It was that mystery woman who Lyon was conversing with earlier.

The woman chuckled. "Looks like our paths merged once more, Lyon Vastia."

The ice mage let out a sigh. "I thought I told you to call me 'Lyon.'"

Her lips curved up into a smirk upon seeing his frustration. Her eyes then trailed to the pink-haired girl. "And this is?"

"Oh yeah, this is Me—" Lyon stopped just in time, realizing how he was about to commit a grave mistake. "Mary! Yeah, Mary. Chelia's distant cousin."

Meredy let out a breath in relief, and then immediately smiled at the woman.

"I see. It's nice to meet you, Mary. I'm Kagura," she uttered with a smile, shaking her hands. Kagura chose to ignore why they were acting weird, but she still eyed her closely, much to Meredy's discomfort. "I don't think I've seen you in the Grand Magic Games, though."

"That's because she's just visiting," Lyon quickly interjected, "She isn't in any guild at the moment, actually."

"So, she  _is_  a mage." Kagura's eyes twinkled, seeing an opportunity. "She should join Mermaid Heel, then."

Lyon laughed nervously. "You should know that we're urging her to join Lamia Scale too." He coughed loudly and planned on changing the subject swiftly, before it would turn into yet another Yukino-like scuffle that happened during the party at the castle. "Where are you heading to, by the way?"

"The program just ended, and I wanted to visit Erza. I heard she would be manning a fighting booth, where people could personally challenge her into a fight." She slightly titled the hilt of her sheathed sword. "I actually just plan to ask her how she is, though I don't really mind taking up the challenge as well."

The ice mage crossed his arms, smirking. "Heh, as expected from you. Tough as ever."

"You aren't bad yourself, you know," the mage from Mermaid Heel retorted back, smirking at him as well.

The two mages exchanged looks with their lips curved upwards, and for a moment, Meredy felt out-of-place. She felt an unwanted pinch in her heart, and she didn't know why.

Kagura continued, "You know, perhaps you should try and challenge her too."

Lyon waved a single hand. "Nah, I'll pass."

"I see." Kagura began walking away. "Well, I better get going then." She eyed the two's close proximity and the stuffed toy in Meredy's arms. "You two enjoy your date."

Lyon groaned in response, but didn't bother pointing out that they weren't a couple. They were often mistaken for one, and he was getting pretty tired of convincing them otherwise. They wouldn't believe him, anyway.

"I saw the two of you conversing earlier, after I spoke with Doranbolt," Meredy professed, looking at the dark haired woman's withdrawing figure. "She must be someone special to you, am I right?"

"What the hell, what made you say that?" the ice mage refuted back, though he couldn't help but blush. He scratched one side of his cheek awkwardly. "I only fought her during the games. That's all. Though I have to admit, she is special; she's a very reputable and powerful mage, I give you that. But she isn't special to me in  _that_  way, no."

"I see."

Lyon gazed over his companion and saw that while she was smiling, there was a pained look in her eyes, and he didn't know why. He frowned.

"We should get going too, right?" she suggested, glancing over the lively environment around them.

"Yeah, but let's grab something to eat first. I'm hungry." Lyon started walking away without waiting for her to respond, and he sneered inwardly upon seeing that Meredy could only trail after him. He recalled her pained face again, but decided that he wouldn't bother himself with that thought at the moment as he led her to a nearby restaurant.

In silence, they walked inside the building and decided to take a seat at the corner of the room, where they would be most unnoticed. Lyon waved at a waiter to obtain their menus, while Meredy placed the stuffed toy beside her. She then realized that she was still holding the prize envelope from the darts and balloon game.

"Looks like we'll finally know if we'll be jewels richer with this." She ripped off the top part of the envelope and brought out two pieces of glossy paper.

Lyon raised an eyebrow. "Those don't look like money. What does it say?"

It took her a few moments to respond as she tried to summarize what was written. "Well, apparently these are vouchers for an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner at the most expensive restaurant here in Magnolia. And since this is from a Fairy Tail event, there's a special note indicating that you could have an exclusive date with any Fairy Tail member of your choice." She brought down the stubs on the table. "Well, there isn't really somebody there that I'd like to have a date with, and even if I did, I shouldn't." She placed the vouchers on his hand. "You should take these."

Lyon wrinkled his brow. "And why?"

"Consider it as a thank you gift from me for everything that you have done." She placed a hand on her chin. "And besides, I bet there's someone in Fairy Tail that you like!"

Just then, the menus arrived before Lyon could say anything else.

"Well," Meredy asserted, going back to the topic, "am I right?"

"That would be right," Lyon started saying slowly, " _if_ we were having this conversation months ago. I admit I did like somebody from Fairy Tail before."

"Eh?" Meredy was slightly shocked. She was just actually teasing him, and somehow, it felt good that she was able to make him confess something like that. "Really? Who is she?"

"None of your business," he dismissed quickly, going over the menu. "Now, be a good girl and just order."

"No fair," she grumbled as she grabbed the other menu, pouting.

In the end, Meredy could only comply and ordered a milkshake. Lyon chose a meal with a plate of clubhouse sandwiches and juice. The waiter left to forward their orders to the kitchen.

"Okay, since you won't tell me anything about the Fairy Tail girl," Meredy mused as she tapped her chin, "Go on a date with Kagura, then!"

"I thought we already came into the conclusion that I do not have any feelings for her." Lyon crossed his arms in frustration. "And Kagura isn't even from Fairy Tail."

"Well, the vouchers don't say anything against dating another person from another guild. I think the Fairy Tail thing is just a bonus, actually." She placed her hands on the edge of the table, leaning her body closer to him. "Besides, even if you don't have feelings for Kagura at the moment, who knows, maybe it'll develop once you have dinner together!"

"Ugh, will you please stop it?" he snarled annoyingly. "Why are you so determined in pairing me with her, anyway?"

"You know you aren't getting any younger!" Her voice was marked with determination along with enthusiasm. "You have lots of fan girls, why don't you try going out with one of them? Sooner or later, you have to be with somebody!"

"Says a person who doesn't even have a boyfriend," he snapped back, but immediately regretted it after seeing the look on her face.

The excitement in her face and voice faded, as she straightened her body back to the chair. "You're right. I haven't even earned the right to say it… I'm sorry for imposing."

Realizing how insensitive he sounded, he was about to apologize when their food arrived, temporarily suspending the impending discomfort that was about to happen. When the waiter left, Lyon took it as a cue to start speaking. "Look, about what I said earlier, I'm sorry, it wasn't what I really meant—"

"No, you don't have to apologize. Maybe I really was annoying you. I am the one who is supposed to do the apologizing." When she saw the confused look on his face, she decided to continue. "I was imposing onto you some of the things that I wouldn't get in my life. Call them my frustrations, maybe."

Lyon observed how she let out a humourless laugh, and it disturbed him a great deal. He didn't know what to say.

Meredy just proceeded to say what was on her mind, as she fiddled with the straw of her drink. "I've always wanted to know how it feels to live a normal life. Of course, I'm not saying that I regret meeting Ultear and Jellal. They're kind and brilliant people." She stopped playing with the straw and instead leaned her arm on the table, placing her chin on her hand. "But sometimes, I wonder, what would be the feeling of waking up in the morning without ever worrying about the need to get out of that place as soon as possible? Or how it feels to be walking around the streets without being wary that people might notice who I am…?"

He heard how she breathed out a heavy sigh before continuing.

"One of them is falling in love and being with someone, I guess. You know, I think I already know why Jellal refused to have a relationship with someone." She didn't know if she should be saying it to him, but she continued anyway. "Ur said that he shouldn't be punishing himself too much, but he still chose not to pursue their relationship even if he really loved that person. He told us it was because the person he loved was following the path of light, and he wasn't. I was supportive of them at first, but now, I understand why he chose that decision."

Lyon's features softened, as he tried to digest her revelation.

Seeing the sympathetic look on his face, Meredy suddenly brightened up. "Oh, was I speaking too much? I'll stop right now; your sandwich is getting cold!" She took a sip from her milkshake happily, as if she hadn't revealed anything earlier.

He hesitantly grabbed one sandwich and took a bite, still looking at her closely. She was humming a tone and was gazing over the other customers in the restaurant. He pushed his plate in the middle of the table, sharing his food to her.

She looked at him briefly, but took a sandwich anyway. She carelessly took a bite causing some mayonnaise to stain her cheeks. "Oh, but I should tell you, I'm still not changing my mind on giving you the vouchers!" she uttered with her mouth still full.

Lyon rolled his eyes and grabbed a napkin from the dispenser on the table. He leaned in forward and wiped off the condiment on her face. "No."

His sudden action and closeness caused heat to rise up her face again. "W-well, if you won't accept them, I'll give them to Chelia!" She inwardly jumped in victory when she noticed how he seemed to be stabbed by her words. "She seems to like you very much!" she pushed even further.

He looked at her dangerously. "You  _wouldn't."_

She didn't seem fazed, however. "I won't if you would accept them."

Leaning back to his chair, he finally slumped back in defeat. "Fine."

A cheerful laughter escaped from Meredy's mouth, as she exclaimed her enthusiastic triumph over him. Lyon huffed in irritation and just took a bite from his sandwich. He couldn't stop his lips from curving upwards though.

He still hadn't forgotten her disclosure earlier, but at least, he made her smile again.

After eating, they resumed their booth-hopping and tried various games. They managed to win more prizes, but decided to stop since Meredy's hands were already full of stuffed animals; even Lyon had to hold some of them. They decided to give out the toys to some children who were passing by, who happily accepted all of them, with the exception of the large pink one.

"We keep that, it's the first prize we won," Lyon said as he handed the last stuffed toy to one kid, who then frolicked away with his friends.

"Seriously?" Meredy giggled. "I never expected you to be the sentimental type."

They decided to pass by some of the booths managed by the Fairy Tail members, such as Natsu's Barbecues, Gray's Ice Treats, and Juvia's Water Spa. They even passed by Erza's just in time to see her scolding Natsu for not being in his own booth.

"But I want to challenge you too, Erza!" Natsu said, justifying his actions.

"Fairy Tail members aren't allowed to join," Erza sternly replied back before kicking him back to his own stall.

Lyon and Meredy however weren't able to stay with them for long since their booths were too close to the Magic Council's headquarters. Lyon assumed that they were positioned there for a reason.

"Probably to keep an eye on those troublemakers," Lyon deduced, pertaining to the Salamander and his fellow Ice-Make mage. Meredy could only agree.

Meredy thought that Lucy's booth was probably one of the most interesting ones, since hers changed by the hour. "She's having a hair salon right now," she mentioned as she saw a Celestial spirit with claws—the spirit of the Crab, she assumed—rigorously cutting the hair of one customer.

"I heard from Gray that she had a hosting session earlier," Lyon shared, "She summoned the Leo spirit, if I'm not mistaken."

"That's…pretty creative," she could only comment.

They passed by other interesting booths, such as Levy's Library, Reedus' Caricature booth, and Lisanna's Animal Petting area. There was also an exhibit on fairies which was organized by Evergreen, and on the other side was Elfman's Manly exhibition. On another corner, a drinking contest hosted by Cana Alberona was occurring. They also passed by the children's area which was managed by Wendy and Romeo, who were also accompanied by Chelia.

"How are you, Chelia?" Meredy asked, approaching the Sky God Slayer.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself here," Lyon added, smiling at the gathering of the several children. Somehow, he remembered his childhood with Gray. He observed some particular children who seemed to be sharing the stuffed toys they donated.

"That's true! It's really fun to get to know others who are my age." Chelia grinned, before excusing herself to aid Wendy and Romeo.

The two continued roaming around the festival grounds. Along the way, they stumbled upon Yuka and Toby, who wagged their eyebrows at Lyon upon seeing the both of them. Lyon dismissed them in annoyance and walked away, much to Meredy's confusion. She heard them laugh before their voices faded with the chatter from the crowd.

Going over another street, they saw a counselling booth on "How to manage a broken heart" by Jet and Droy, as well as a stall on "Family Advices" by Alzack and Bisca. There was also a gathering of men on one corner of the street, headed by Macao and Wakaba. They decided to avoid booths that seemed too outrageous basing from their names, such as "Demon Mirajane's Matchmaking Booth," "Laxus' Electrifying Chair" and "Freed's Fun Jail Booth."

Soon, they did not notice that four hours had already passed past noon, so they decided to rest by riding one of the attractions built by the Iron Dragon Slayer.

They were halfway the top when Lyon started complaining, "This ride sucks," noting the creaking sounds of the tubes keeping the whole attraction together. "I could make a better Ferris Wheel than this load of metal crap."

"Shh, he might hear you," Meredy mumbled, looking at Gajeel from above. Thankfully, he appeared too preoccupied with the managing the queue of people wanting to ride. "But you know, I doubt that anyone would want to take a seat on an icy gondola," she said, recalling her uncomfortable ride on the ice eagle.

Lyon shrugged. "Hmpf, I could set up an area where they could rent appropriate clothes, then."

Meredy only laughed as they reached the top of the ride, where the gondola they were sitting on stopped. She pushed her blue-tinted glasses onto her head to better appreciate the scenery. "Wow, this is a nice view of the town," she remarked, gazing at the buildings. "It's really beautiful," she said further, as tints of orange amplified the splendour due to the gradual descent of the sun.

Lyon gazed sideways and saw how Meredy was beaming—her mouth was slightly opened in awe and her eyes were gleaming with wonder. Without looking at what she was pertaining to, he found himself saying, "Yeah, it is."

Unbeknownst to them, Gray was standing near the queue of the line after he was finished in cleaning up his own booth. He watched over the tall metal attraction before him.

A voice interrupted his sightseeing. "Gray-sama, let's ride the Ferris Wheel together!" The owner of the voice then clutched her arms around his, much to his dismay.

"Get off me, Juvia!" Gray said as he tried to fend her off, but it was futile. "And anyway, I don't think we could. The ride will be closing soon."

"Juvia doesn't think so!" The water mage responded, "Gajeel-kun said that he would be working overtime!"

"Ah, crap," he could only say as he was pulled by the girl towards the queue.

"By the way, has Gray-sama seen Meredy?" the water mage muttered with a worried tone, "Juvia hasn't seen her again since she passed by Juvia's booth."

"Eh, why don't you see for yourself?" Gray pointed his free hand upwards, towards the direction of the highest gondola.

Juvia followed and saw that indeed, Meredy was there, together with Lyon. Although they were a distance away, she was sure that Meredy was smiling, a completely different sight from when she saw her earlier. Her friend also appeared to be in good terms with Lyon, who seemed to be equally comfortable with her.

Gray noticed that for once, Juvia didn't seem to be too love-struck with him even if he was standing that close to her. He found himself looking upwards too, and saw what was making Juvia preoccupied. "Meredy is happier now, it seems."

"Yes, Juvia knows."

Juvia was happy too, and she hoped that her smiles would continue even further.


	12. Demon's Intervention

After she had finished folding the last piece of cloth draping around her booth, Mirajane placed all of the things she had used in a large basket and started walking away from her area. She heaved a sigh.

Mira was sad.

The previous night, she had vigorously prepared for the materials that she needed for her matchmaking booth. She even readied her script for the various well-thought-of activities for couples-to-be. She felt that all the hard work she exerted simply went down the drain, since she only had less than ten visitors. She looked at the ground, thinking what might have gone wrong.

Perhaps she should've given more flyers to the people passing by to better advertise her booth?

But then again, she had printed about 500 copies and she hardly had any left with her.

She then looked at the folded banner— _Demon_   _Mirajane's Matchmaking Booth—_ in her basket.

Maybe it really was a bad idea to place her old name on the sign? She thought at first that it was actually good publicity to place her well-known title to attract visitors.

She sighed once more.

She was about to move away when she heard another disappointed grunt from beside her. Looking at the source, she saw a fellow guild mate, Freed, who looked equally upset as her. He was sitting on a box and apparently was also done packing away his belongings, though he appeared to be mumbling something to himself. Concerned, Mirajane approached him. "Hello, Freed. Is something wrong?"

"M-mirajane!" He immediately stopped rambling upon hearing her, embarrassed about being caught speaking to himself. "It's nothing. Just a bit bothered."

"Bothered?" Mirajane placed her basket on the ground and sat on another box beside Freed. "Want to talk about it?"

"Thanks, but it's nothing big," he said, giving her a sad smile.

"Let me guess, does it have something to do with the booth?" The white-haired mage scanned through the untouched prizes inside the boxes surrounding them. "I assume you didn't get many visitors?"

Freed gave her a surprised look. "How did you know?"

She giggled. "Heh, I know the look of someone who feels that way!"

It was Freed's turn to look over Mirajane's basket, which seemed to have lots of souvenirs. "You too?"

The girl only nodded and smiled. "Yeah."

"I see." Freed clenched his hand into a fist. "I just think it's sad. You prepared so much for this activity yet it didn't garner that recognition that you were expecting. Makes you think what went wrong."

Mirajane internally giggled, since she also said something along those lines earlier. At least someone could empathize with her, she thought. "Well, there will always be a next time. Guess we'll just have to do better by then."

"That's true." Freed sighed and stood up, stretching his arms and legs. "I just wish that it would happen sooner. Like we could prove ourselves immediately by setting up a better booth." He sat down again and muttered the next sentences with obvious disappointment. "It's too bad though, that we only have this day for the booths. We have a completely different program tomorrow."

Just then, Mirajane's eyes gleamed. "Say, do you think there's someone else who had the same misfortune as us?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I spoke with Laxus earlier. Seems like he didn't get any visitors at all."

Mirajane tried to recall the Lightning Dragon Slayer's booth, and then pictured a menacing electric chair. She sweatdropped. " _It's no wonder they're afraid_."

"I don't think he's that much affected, though," he continued, trying to recall what Laxus looked like when he carried his special chair out of his area. "I think he was just pretty annoyed about participating in this whole thing, saying it was only a waste of his time since he isn't cut out for this sort of stuff."

His remarks were only met with silence, so Freed looked over at his companion. He raised an eyebrow when he saw that she was simply staring into space, while the corners of her lips were slowly curling up.

"Mira?"

Slowly, her head turned towards him, with a wide sneer plastered on her face. "Freed…"

There was something sinister in the tone of her voice, reminiscent of the time when she fought him and transformed into a demon. While she still retained her normal appearance, Freed felt a rather ominous aura surrounding her. He shuddered. "Y-yes, Mira?"

"Where did Laxus go?" The expression of her face did not change, even upon seeing Freed hesitantly shaking his head. "Let's look for him. I have a plan."

As Mirajane pulled the Dark Écriture mage towards another location, a similar scenario was happening on another street in Magnolia, only, it was Lucy who was pulling a disgruntled Natsu away from a food stand.

"You're such a kill-joy, Lucy!" Natsu crossed his arms as he was being pulled by his scarf. "Why do we have to leave early? I wanted to try more of their food!"

Lucy grunted annoyingly and clutched the material on her fist tighter. "To be honest, I don't mind you eating there." Her eyes trailed down to her almost-empty purse held by her other hand. "If you brought your own money!"

The Fire Dragon Slayer only shrugged his elbows in defeat and did nothing to stop the girl from dragging him on the ground. "Where's Happy?"

As if on cue, the said Exceed flew towards him, delightfully munching a fried tuna on a stick. "I'm here!"

"Good! At least I'm not alone when Evil Overlord Lucy is being mean to me. You're a witness!"

Lucy rolled her eyes and only ignored the nickname. "By the way, has anyone spoken with Master regarding…you know, the issue with Meredy. I learned about it through Juvia."

"Not really sure, to be honest," Natsu remarked, the expression of his face turning more serious. "Everybody has been pretty busy throughout the day. We better ask Erza or Gray though, just to be sure."

Happy flew up higher, still chewing his meal. "If the two of you are looking for Erza, there she is!" he exclaimed, pointing forward a few meters away from them.

Natsu started walking on his feet as Lucy dropped her hand on his scarf, and both sauntered towards the direction of the scarlet-haired mage, who appeared to be conversing with a large man with a bald head.

"Erza!" Natsu shouted, flailing his hand at the said mage as they approached them.

The Requip mage calmly acknowledged them by nodding. "Natsu, Lucy."

"I'm here too!" Happy retorted as he landed just beside Natsu. Erza recognized him too by smiling at him.

Natsu turned his head to the older man beside Erza. The man was holding a plastic cup of shiny peas, and the dragon slayer was about to comment how it complemented his shiny head when Lucy spoke.

"Wait, you're Jura-san!" the Stellar Spirit mage said, "Good to see that you're able to visit here too."

"Lucy-dono, Natsu-dono, Cat-dono," he greeted them back, smiling as he stroked his beard with his free hand.

"I hope you're enjoying the festival, though most of our booths are closed already."

"I managed to visit some booths; there were some giving away free stuff, such as these  _spicy peas_." The wizard saint gave them a nauseated look, which implied that he wasn't much a fan of peas. Natsu took notice of this and volunteered to eat them for him, to which Jura instantly complied. He said the next words as Natsu started munching on the treat. "As much as I want to enjoy more of this celebration, I'm afraid that I must inform you of a rather serious matter."

"A sewrious maccher?" Natsu asked with his mouth still full, to which he received a scolding from Erza.

The older mage didn't seem to mind the two of them as he continued. "Yes. Yesterday in our guild house, we heard a loud thunderous noise outside. It seemed near our place, so I tried searching for the spot where the 'lightning' hit, yet I didn't find anything. At first I dismissed it as a simple lightning crash, but I felt something was wrong." The wizard saint then crossed his arms and closed his eyes. "Just to make sure, I visited the Magical Division of Atmospheric and Geophysical Occurrences in Crocus this morning."

Natsu gulped down a large portion of peas before speaking. "So what did you learn?"

Erza answered for him. "Apparently, the same 'lightning' also struck Magnolia, Crocus and other various locations throughout Fiore." She paused before continuing. "All at the same time."

"Wait," Lucy interjected, trying to process all the information they just learned. "What time did this lightning strike happen?"

Jura replied, "About half an hour past three in the afternoon."

Lucy placed a hand on her chin as she tried to recall the events the previous day. She jolted her head when something clicked on her mind. "Hold on! I think I remember a loud noise around that time yesterday!" The events wherein Natsu and Gray were in the process of destroying the stage flashed back in her mind, along with the weird sound she heard. "So I wasn't just hearing things!"

"I heard the noise too," Happy added and then scratched his head. "I just thought it was my stomach grumbling."

"It seems like it really happened, though everyone was too busy to notice where it came from," Erza commented, mildly disappointed in herself for not detecting it.

"Anyway, I requested the division to look more into it. They told me that it wasn't just a normal lightning strike, stating it appeared to have some magical origin." The wizard saint opened his eyes, which were filled with apprehension. "In truth, this really worries me. I wanted to help them to know more, but they said it would take days to locate the exact coordinates of where the strikes appeared. By then, we could investigate more."

"I hope it isn't anything serious," Lucy whispered, though she was really doubtful that it wasn't.

"Shifting to another matter, have you seen Lyon? I assume you have spoken with him and Meredy-dono." Jura spoke in a quiet tone, being extra careful knowing the presence of the Magic Council around the town.

"Yes, we have," Erza replied rather stiffly. She still felt uneasy not knowing of the status of the certain blue-haired individual. "We haven't informed Master, but I'm sure he'd be willing to help."

"That's good to hear. The issue with Meredy-dono worries me too."

Lucy looked over at Natsu, who seemed to be in deep thought. When he perceived that she was looking at him, their eyes met—Lucy gave him a worried expression, while Natsu only nodded. Lucy took it as a cue to tell what was on her mind. "Hey, what if perhaps, these two issues are connected?"

Both Erza's and Jura's eyes briefly widened at her suggestion, but before they could comment about it, a sudden outburst coming near interrupted their line of thoughts.

"This fragrance! Is it Erza-san?!"

Upon hearing the voice, the Requip mage immediately took on a defensive stance and nippily pinned down the source of the voice, who then grunted in both pain and pleasure in response. Erza cringed, pushing him down with more force. "Ichiya…"

"Aah, still as tough and beautiful as ever, Erza-san!" Ichiya said with glee, despite being flattened on the ground by the scarlet-haired mage. "And I don't mind you forcing me down; it gives me greater opportunity to whiff your perfume more!"

Disgusted, Erza quickly stood up and kicked him away, much to the agony and delight of the Perfume mage.

"Hello, everyone!" Another voice happily greeted. Everyone else turned to him, and saw Eve, who was beside Hibiki. Ren was also with them, though he was lagging behind due to Sherry, who was urging him to get a prize for her.

"Wow, look at everyone here," Hibiki exclaimed gladly, going over at the people around them. "It's like a reunion of the Allied Forces!"

Lucy nodded. "Yeah, but we're missing Wendy, Charle—" she started saying, but was interrupted when she was suddenly shrouded with flowers by Eve and Hibiki. "—Gray and Lyon."

"True, but while waiting for them," Eve said, wagging his eyebrows at Lucy.

"Why don't we have dinner first?" Hibiki finished for him, holding Lucy on the shoulder.

As Lucy tried to fend them off, the other members of the alliance who weren't present, particularly the two ice mages, were already conversing on another street in Magnolia.

Lyon was leaning on a lamp post as they were waiting for their two female companions. "Have you already informed your master about it?"

Gray, who was standing beside him, shook his head. "No, but knowing him, I'm sure he'd be glad to help and wouldn't back down even if it involved dark guilds."

"I see. Good, then." Lyon crossed his arms, as he gazed over a few stalls away from them. There, Juvia and Meredy patiently stood as they waited for the booth owner to finish weaving their cotton candies. They appeared to be taking turns in holding the large pink stuffed toy. He felt contented in watching them from a distance, not saying a word.

"By the way," Gray began saying, breaking the silence, "what's with you and Meredy?"

Lyon raised a thin eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"How do I say this…" Gray scratched his neck. "You're too concerned about her."

The older mage gave him a confused look. "What's wrong with that? Aren't you concerned about her too?"

"Well, I am. I'm just wondering why you seem…" Gray paused, looking for the right word. "I don't know, too attached to her."

Lyon glanced at him sideways, not looking amused. "I don't know where you want this conversation to head to."

"Well, I just mean that you seem too attached to her even if you just met in a short span of time." Gray waited for him to speak, but saw that Lyon didn't appear to have any intention of replying back. He decided to continue explaining further. "I mean, Meredy and I have interacted before and have already been in friendly terms. Plus, I'm quite concerned for her too since Ultear is like family to me. Meredy treated her like a mother, so if we go by the logic, she's like a niece to me. Sort of."

Lyon snorted. "I don't see her that way."

"That further proves my point."

It took several seconds for Lyon to answer. "Can't I be a good person, in general?"

"I'm not saying that, but I just thought…" Gray was frustrated already, feeling as though the conversation was going nowhere. "Ah, never mind."

"No, spill it out."

"It's nothing, but I think I saw something when both of you were riding the Ferris wheel. In my point of view, it seems like you're interested in her." When Lyon gave him another questioning look, Gray spoke further. "In  _that_  sort of way."

Lyon froze for a few seconds before laughing out loud. "What the hell? Wild imagination you have, Gray."

The younger mage felt embarrassed. He shouldn't have said that; the comment felt like it was made by gossipy teenage girl. Because of this, he felt more frustrated, especially with the answers Lyon was giving. "I've explained my side, and you're evading the question. What are you to Meredy?"

Lyon was still chuckling, but it gradually faded when he saw the serious look on Gray's face. Truthfully, he knew exactly what Gray was asking about. It just felt fun feigning innocence and irritating Gray like that. Though at the back of his head, he also knew that he wasn't exactly sure what he felt for the Maguilty mage. All he knew was that seeing Meredy smile pleased him a lot, and somehow, made his heart feel warmer.

But he wasn't going to admit that to Gray. He wasn't some love-struck teenage girl who was sharing her feelings to her best friend.

And he wasn't even love-struck, right?

And Gray wasn't even his best friend.

"Well?" Gray tapped a finger impatiently. "Spill it out, Lyon."

Luckily for Lyon, their conversation was interrupted by the familiar voice. "Gray-sama!"

The younger ice mage turned his head to see a blue cloud of candy smashing directly into his face. "What the hell, Juvia?!"

"It's cotton candy!" she exclaimed pleasantly, "Let's share!" She then gobbled a portion of the candy which was in between their faces.

A smiling Meredy approached Lyon with her own pink treat, whilst holding the toy on the other arm, and reached out her cotton candy towards him. "We can share too, if you want."

Lyon gave her a bewildered look, as he glanced from her pink cotton candy, to the one in Juvia's hand. In Lyon's head, the sight of the two of them looked rather intimate since they were eating the treat face-to-face.

(Yet if one took a closer look, it was actually more of the cotton candy being forced onto Gray's face while Juvia contentedly ate.)

With that thought on his head, Lyon's own imagination placed him and Meredy in their position. Face rapidly flushing, Lyon covered his face and started walked away.  _"Stupid Gray. It's his fault that I'm having these ideas."_

Several question marks raised on Meredy's head as she observed his retreating figure. The way of sharing the treat that she actually had in mind was just both of them pinching small portions from the cloud of candy. She merely shrugged and followed after him.

A few minutes later, she found herself being led to a particular street that was rather crowded with mages and non-mages alike. She stood beside Lyon, who seemed to be having second thoughts in going through the sea of people.

"What's wrong?" she inquired, munching her candy.

"Nothing. I'm just checking if there are any white-cloaks around. Also, let's wait for Gray and Juvia."

"Okay," she answered back. She attempted to offer him the remaining cotton candy again. "You sure you don't want any?"

He peeked at her from the side and saw the glob of pink cotton on a stick, which he had to confess, looked rather tasty. "Fine, thanks," he said as he grabbed the stick from her hand.

As Lyon stuck a piece of the candy in his mouth, he noticed Meredy was observing him, as if anticipating what his reaction would be. As the sweetness melted in his mouth, he couldn't help but feel uncomfortable having her staring at him. "What?"

Her face appeared delighted, her cheeks pink and lips curled upwards. "Nothing."

While he had to admit that a face like that suited her more, seeing her with that expression distracted him even further and caused heat to rise up his face. Quickly, he pulled the stuff toy slightly above to cover her face, confusing the girl. "Huh?"

"Nothing," he said immediately, "We just have to be careful, someone might see you."

Meredy seemed convinced since she didn't question him any further, much to Lyon's relief. When Gray and Juvia reached them, they started walking towards the spot where there were lots of familiar faces. Soon, they joined the other Fairy Tail members, as well as the ones from Lamia Scale and Blue Pegasus, who were gathering at the middle of the street.

"Let's party!" Natsu exclaimed as he happily breathed out fire, causing some others to hurriedly evade it to prevent themselves from being burned.

"This brings back the memories!" Lucy shared, to which a lot from the alliance nodded as they cheered.

Lyon also appreciated how everyone was together once more even after all those years, though he wasn't expressing it as loud as the others. When he looked at Meredy, who was just smiling at the merriment before her, the ice mage took the initiative to briefly explain things to her. "Before, we formed an alliance with Fairy Tail and Blue Pegasus to defeat a dark guild."

"I think I've heard of that one before," Meredy said, lowering the stuff toy to look at him better, "Oracion Seis, right?"

"Yeah."

For the next couple of minutes, everyone seemed really contented in conversing with one another about the most random things. Soon, the sky turned dark and the place was illuminated by the lamp posts as well as the lights from the buildings.

Everything seemed well.

Until the street lights suddenly went out, causing a lot of people to shriek. Lyon, out of impulse, immediately grabbed Meredy's arm, causing her to squeak in surprise. He apologized and held her closer, wary of a possible danger looming.

"What's going on?!" He heard Natsu say, as he used his hand to create a makeshift torch, which slightly illuminated the place better.

Just then, everyone stopped what they were doing when the magical speakers turned on once more. "Ladies and gentlemen! This is Mirajane! Some might have thought that today's program is already over, but you're wrong! The fun is just starting!"

Then, a spotlight appeared on one of the buildings beside the street, revealing three figures—Mirajane, Freed, and Laxus. The three looked rather ominous, especially Mira who seemed to be in Satan Soul mode.

"Tonight, we are going to have a game! This game is actually an extension of our booths, so please listen carefully!" With a snap of a finger, the lights from the lamp posts returned. "Now, look at the ground you're stepping on; notice the purple lines drawn on the floor! They form a box, and if you are inside of it, you are included in the game! Those who do not wish to participate, feel free to step out of the purple lines!"

Just then, several people started running away from said purple box. Lyon and Meredy didn't move from their spot, as they watched how the others only ended up bumping themselves on a transparent wall.

Natsu was one of the unfortunate ones, and rubbed his sore nose. He started punching the invisible barrier which prevented him from going outside. "What the hell?! Not this again!"

From above, Freed chuckled darkly. "Sorry, but it is compulsory for Fairy Tail members to join."

"Right now, you are witnessing Freed's Fun Jail booth!" Mirajane cheerfully said.

Lyon gazed over the non-Fairy Tail members. Ichiya also began speaking. "Men! I don't like the sound of this game. Let's go outside!" Subsequently, the Trimens followed their ace as they attempted to go out of the box.

"I don't like the sound of this too." Lyon looked troubled, and held Meredy's arm again. "Let's get out of here as well. It's too risky here."

The Maguilty mage nodded and trailed after him.

But before they could head out, they also found themselves stuck inside the invisible cage.

"Whoopsies! I'm sorry," Mirajane spoke with a feigned apologetic tone, "but it wouldn't be fun if there were only a few people participating! So, now, we're changing the rules a bit. You are automatically included in the game if you're a mage 17 years old and up!"

"At least Chelia's safe," Meredy said as she watched Chelia, along with Wendy and Romeo, stepping out of the invisible box.

Lyon turned to her. "How about you, though? How old are you?"

Meredy bit her lip. "18."

They head Mirajane speak once more. "Next is the fun part!"

Suddenly, small jolts of lightning struck on different areas inside the box, causing the mages to evade them; from above, Laxus smirked.

Mirajane continued. "Don't worry, I asked Laxus to minimize the voltage of each shock, so it would only hurt a bit if you get hit! But if you are able to survive this challenge, you'll be qualified for the next round of the game!"

"I seriously doubt that it would only hurt 'a bit!'" Gray shouted, evading a bolt.

"What the heck are you planning, Mira?!" Erza exclaimed, as she easily jumped from one lightning strike.

Lyon could find himself sharing the sentiment of the other Fairy Tail members stuck inside. He was standing in the middle of the box as he witnessed some mages being hit by the small lightning bolts. Even though he knew that they were very much alive, he still cringed at how they ended up lying on the ground after being struck.

Distracted, he didn't notice that a bolt was being directed at him from above. He didn't perceive it until he heard Meredy's voice. "Look out!"

Briskly he looked up and saw a quick ray of light about to strike him, but it never hit him, because the next thing he knew, a gust of air was pushed out of his lungs and he was on the ground. He groaned in pain as he felt the weight of somebody on top of him.

"Are you okay?" the voice which he knew belonged to Meredy asked. The weight was lifted from him as she shifted to a sitting position.

He slowly opened his eyes to see her face without the blue glasses, which he assumed was knocked off due to the impact from earlier. "Yeah. Thanks."

Meredy helped him stand up to his feet, and it was then when Lyon realized how a few of them were left—there were Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia, Erza, Ichiya, and some other Fairy Tail members which he couldn't name.

"Now we move onto the last part of the game! I have Laxus here to help me randomly sort you into pairs for the final round. Those who are standing beside you are now your partners!"

"Partners? What do you mean by partners?" Natsu inquired, as he looked at the person nearest him. It was Gray.

"Yes! W-what do you mean?" Juvia said, almost afraid of what she might hear. She hesitantly looked beside her to see that Lucy was the one closest to her.

Mirajane giggled playfully. "Oh, you should know what it means already. My booth is all about matchmaking, after all!" She then lowered her voice, raising her eyebrows at the pairs below them. "Although… The match-ups made by Laxus weren't exactly the ones I had in mind." She eyed Natsu with Gray, and Lucy with Juvia in particular.

"What?!" the water mage shouted. "Juvia doesn't want to be partners with Lucy-san! She'd rather be with Gray-sama!" Juvia then stood up and started jogging towards the ice mage, only to crash onto another invisible wall.

"Sorry, the pairs have been decided," Freed interjected, "You will be stuck inside the smaller jail with your partner."

"How do we get out?" Gray asked as calmly as possible.

"You must satisfy the criteria that we planned!" Freed declared, smirking.

"What criteria is that?!" Ichiya screamed excitedly, "Does it have something to do with love?!"

"Oh hell no," Erza yelled disgustingly, keeping as much distance from her partner.

Mirajane clasped her hands together excitedly. "You must kiss the person for five seconds!"

"If not, you'll be stuck in jail with your partner until midnight! Not only that," Freed raised a hand sideways, revealing the electric chair which was behind Laxus, "both of you will be punished through Laxus's special chair!"

"It's settled, then." Erza sat on the ground with her legs crossed. "Electric chair it is."

"Kiss?!" Juvia collapsed on the ground in despair. "This was Juvia's chance! Why does she have to be stuck with Lucy-san?!"

"Don't make it sound like you're the only one not enjoying this situation," Lucy stressed, scratching her head weakly.

"I'D CHOOSE THE ELECTRIC CHAIR TOO!" Natsu and Gray barked, not facing each other as they crossed their arms at the same time.

While the others were arguing on what they would do in their own transparent cages, Lyon and Meredy looked surprisingly calm inside theirs.

Though, that was only what it looked like on the outside, since Lyon was actually having an internal turmoil on what was needed to be done.  _"What the hell is happening…Kiss…?"_ His heart was starting to throb faster, and he felt annoyed.

On the other hand, Meredy didn't seem to be having the same internal conflict as he did. Instead, she merely touched the invisible barrier with one hand. "You know… The feeling of this barrier…it's similar to the ones that caged Jellal…"

The statement snapped Lyon back to momentary calmness. "Is that so…?"

Then, a lot of cheering was heard from the audience, which garnered both of their attention. They searched for what seemed to be reason for it, and found out that a couple was released from their cage.

"What, did they actually kiss?" Lyon asked, to which Meredy only shrugged.

"Aww! It seems like Elfman kissed Evergreen on the forehead!" Mirajane tilted her head slightly. "My little brother is really growing up!"

"So it doesn't necessarily have to be a  _kiss_!" Lyon quickly said, grabbing Meredy's hand, "I could just kiss you on the hand—"

But his line of thought was disrupted when another round of cheering was heard. Another barrier dispersed and Lucy and Juvia were free.

"So Lucy played safe by kissing Juvia's hand!" Mirajane covered her mouth. "I think it's still pretty sweet!"

"Tch, they're fast." Lyon gritted his teeth. "Well, I could still kiss you on the hand—"

However, Mirajane heard him, so she swiftly interrupted. "We'll have an additional rule! If a pair has already kissed a certain part of the body, the other pairs aren't allowed to kiss that part now! In this case, the remaining pairs aren't allowed to kiss on the hands and forehead anymore!"

Lyon dropped her hand. "Shit."

"Well, how about you kiss my foot, then," Meredy joked.

Natsu heard her, and suddenly had an idea. "Gray, come on! Kiss my foot!"

A vein popped on Gray's forehead. "As if, Dim-wit flame! Why do I have to do the kissing? You kiss my foot!"

"What should we do, then?" Meredy turned to him, as she started to adjust her boot. "We better be fast, or Natsu and Gray would do it before us."

However, before he could reply, some murmurs from the audience near them caught their attention. "The Magic council's approaching?"

"Aw, they might spoil the fun!" the other replied. "They should start kissing! Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"

And much to his surprise, everyone from the audience started chanting along, increasing the pressure for the people who were inside the barrier. Natsu and Gray didn't seem fazed though, as they continued fighting on who should kiss who.

Lyon clenched his fist. "Hey, we should—" he started saying, but noticed how she had a fearful look in her eyes again. He followed the direction of what she was gazing at, and indeed, it was something that didn't scream good news especially for her.

He didn't know if it what he was feeling right then was pressure and panic combining from the chants of the audience, or the thought of the impending danger upon Meredy when he caught sight of the white-robed councilmen.

The chanting went on. _"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"_

He gave another quick glance at Meredy, whose humour from earlier faded upon seeing the councilmen. Her mouth was slightly opened in distress and her hands were shaking.

_"Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!"_

In that very moment, the pressure and panic increased fourfold. Various emotions overloaded him, and he cursed inwardly when even his unresolved feelings for Meredy surfaced. He shook the feeling off and tried to focus.

He had to act fast.

He only did what he thought was the most logical thing to do at that very moment.

Without warning, he abruptly pulled her shoulders towards him and kissed her squarely on the lips.

Collective gasps were heard from around them.

It was a quick kiss, and the action barely registered on Meredy's head until the very last second.

Five seconds had passed, and as soon as the barrier dispersed, Lyon pulled away and grabbed her hand, dragging her away from the scene, opposite the direction of the councilmen.

A moment of silence occurred before the crowd erupted into thunderous cheers and applause, along with heartfelt whistles.

Mirajane was speechless, yet she was very happy. "Now, that was something that we didn't expect."


	13. Ear Mufflers

They made another turn towards one of the streets. Meredy's hand was connected with his due to his firm grasp on her wrist. Everything was moving fast and the surroundings were a blur, but her feet only scurried after him, following wherever he intended to go.

Her mind in disarray with the recent happenings, she tried to reorganize her thoughts by recalling the immediate events that had happened previously.

_A game…_

… _Trapped…_

… _Lightning bolts striking…_

… _Transparent cage…_

… _Hands pulling her forward, her head turning..._

And then, a memory of his lips crushing through hers flashed in her head. Eyes widening, her heart started skipping even faster and she knew that it wasn't from the running.

None of them spoke the moment they left the busy crowd, so it stunned Lyon when he heard her say, "Wait."

He instantly complied by slowing down, and coming to a full stop at a park with a large, circular fountain in the middle. Luckily for them, they reached a place where there wasn't a single person around, and the environment was surreal with the quietness of the night, which was very much unlike the area packed with people earlier.

Gently letting go of her hand, Lyon didn't turn around, having his back facing her. Not that it mattered, since Meredy wasn't looking at him the same, opting to stare at the ground.

Subconsciously, she slowly lifted her scarf to cover the bottom part of her face, still feeling flustered about the whole thing. "Ah, I…" Meredy then found herself out of words to speak. What was she supposed to say? She wasn't looking directly at him, but she saw how he shifted his feet to finally face her. "I left the stuffed toy," she said lamely.

Lyon's brows twitched. Of all the things that were going on in his head, those were the words that he was least expecting from her. He observed how she was attempting to conceal her face. "Just… forget about it."

Whether he was pertaining about the stuffed toy or the kiss, Meredy wasn't sure. No one spoke for the next few moments, and only the scuffling of the trees with breeze of the night was heard. Both remained standing while facing each other, yet she still refused to look at him.

Lyon finally decided that he should be the one to start saying something. "I'm sorry."

The statement seemed surprised Meredy as he observed an abrupt rising of her shoulders.

"I'm sorry," he repeated, looking away, "because I panicked. And I shouldn't have done that—"

"What are you talking about?" she suddenly interrupted, her hand still on the scarf, "It's okay. At least we got out right away."

Before Lyon got to say anything back, the Maguilty mage excused herself immediately to the drinking fountain nearby, leaving him trailing his eyes on her withdrawing figure. With a sigh, he headed towards a nearby bench and sat on it, burying his head on his hands.

" _Why did it turn out like this?"_ he asked himself, rubbing his forehead. Sure, he was losing his nerves in that moment, but he never intended to do something like that. Back then, she was facing sideways, so he thought it was a perfect opportunity to just kiss her on the cheek. However, she must have been startled when he hastily pulled her towards him. It was all an accident.  _"I should've warned her. Stupid, stupid…"_

From his face, one of his hands travelled its way towards his mouth. On his part, he had to admit that the experience wasn't really bad. If her feelings were not being considered, he would've actually been proud of himself…

…And yet here he was, worrying of what she was thinking at that very moment. He had just confirmed that she was still a teenager, and he was well-aware how emotionally fragile girls in that age group were. He buried his face onto his hands once more.

But then again, she wasn't just an ordinary teenager. She even said it herself: it was okay. In addition to that, her lips were soft and warm and— _"Agh, stop it, Lyon!"_ he mentally scolded himself _, "She was telling you to kiss her foot in the first place, for crying out loud. Of course it wasn't okay."_

While Lyon was still sorting out his thoughts, on the other side, Meredy was starting to lean on the drinking fountain. She pushed the metallic switch, allowing water to spray out of the nozzle. The moment the cold splash of water came in contact with her lips, she abruptly released the button, halting the flow of water. She brought her fingers towards her mouth, her cheeks flushing red.

The feeling was reminiscent of the coolness of his touch.

Abruptly, she felt the heat rising up her face once more. Frustrated for having those weird feelings again, she brashly loosened her scarf and pulled off her bonnet, releasing the long pink tresses. She pushed the switch once more and opted to splash the water on her face instead, cooling it down.

"Calm down, Meredy," she whispered to herself, "This isn't like you. You've experienced far worse than this. This isn't even a life-or-death situation; you shouldn't lose your cool!"

With water still dripping down her face, she grinned, trying to think of something else other than  _that incident._

"You're supposed to be the master of emotions!" she finally uttered with determination, clutching the bonnet in her hands tight. After making sure that she was calm enough to mask the whirlpool of emotions inside her, she stood straight and then marched back towards the ice mage.

When Lyon heard footsteps approaching, he breathed out heavily before bringing his hands down.  _"Okay, time to face her again_." He was expecting her to have the same ruffled appearance but was surprised to see the sight before him. True, she actually looked messier this time—her face was dripping with water, her hair was all over the place, and her scarf was dangling loosely over her shoulders—but what really caught his attention was her cheerful face.

"So, what's our plan for tonight?" she inquired, her eyes closed but mouth still beaming.

He was actually prepared to apologize once more, but seeing that she did not really seem affected about it anyway, he decided to drop the issue and reply. "It's getting late. We should settle in for the night. We'll meet with Fairy Tail first thing in the morning."

"Okay… So are we heading back to your town?" The thought didn't really thrill Meredy; if they were indeed going back, it would mean that she'd be staying at Chelia's place once more. If she was to be honest, she didn't really want to face her after that incident, or heck, anyone else who witnessed the whole thing.

Unbeknownst to her, Lyon didn't feel like confronting anyone else too. "No, we'll stay here. We'll just find an inn."

Meredy thought that it was a good idea at first, but suddenly remembered something. "Oh, but I don't have enough money…"

"Don't worry, it's on me." He stood up from the bench. "Consider it... as an apology gift for what I've done earlier."

She couldn't really argue with that. "Alright," she said, as she started walking. When she sensed him not following, she turned her head to see him giving her a weird look. "Is something wrong?"

He approached her and had the sudden urge to wipe her face with his sleeves but immediately drew his hand back, remembering their  _situation_. "Your face," he voiced instead, gesturing at his own, "Your hair too."

She gave him a momentary shocked expression before drying her face with the scarf and placed the bonnet over her head, without concealing the long locks inside like before. It was dark anyway, no one would really notice much, she thought. Lyon also didn't seem to mind it.

They walked away from the park in silence and headed towards the nearest inn. Unfortunately for them, it was fully booked. The staff explained that it was due to a number of people having reservations because of Fairy Tail's three-day event. Similar answers were obtained from other lodgings they went to. To make matters worse, it started raining while they were on the way towards the last inn which was far enough from the festival area.

"Let's hope we're lucky this time," Lyon said, shielding his head from the rain.

Meredy only nodded in response as they hurriedly entered the inn.

Lyon wasted no time and immediately approached the receptionist. "Two rooms, please."

"I'm sorry sir," the female receptionist replied forlornly, "but we only have one room available."

Lyon clicked his tongue.  _"Guess we aren't so lucky after all."_  He thought of going to the rest of the inns around Magnolia, but that would risk them being seen by others more. He glanced at the glass entrance and saw that the rain didn't have any intention of stopping any time soon. Near the window, he also saw a shivering Meredy who was rubbing her hands on her upper arms.

Since all odds were against looking for another place, he decided what he had to do. "We'll take it."

As soon as the keys were handed, they headed for the room which was on the third floor. On the way, Lyon began explaining why they had to share a room. Meredy seemed to understand and didn't really voice out any concerns about it.

Moments later, they finally reached their assigned room. Overall, it looked pretty plain; there was a queen-sized bed, a small couch, some chairs, and a television. A glass door which gave access to a small balcony was also present.

"You go to the shower first," he said, doffing his white coat, "You might catch a cold."

"But what about you?" She eyed his dripping tunic as she began removing her soaked bonnet.

He smirked. "Heh, I was trained to stand the cold, remember?"

"Oh, right!" She entered the bathroom and held the door's edge. "Don't worry, I won't be long!"

Upon hearing the slam of the bathroom door, Lyon began taking off his top and proceeded to hang his drenched clothing over one of the chairs. He glanced at the balcony and saw that it was still raining.

"This has been a long, long day," he uttered in a tired tone, as he grabbed the remote from the desk and turned on the television.

The news channel was on, and reports indicate that some isolated rain showers and thunderstorms would occur over the area of Magnolia and surrounding towns until early morning.

Shrugging at the forecast, Lyon lied casually on the couch and crossed his legs. He began fumbling inside bag, searching for something to dry himself.

Meanwhile, Meredy was already inside the shower and was soaking herself with warm water. It felt great, she thought, as the sensation calmed her.

She released a sigh.

Though they were actually within each other's vicinity, she felt relieved that at least for the time being, there were walls that separated Lyon and her. She placed a hand over her chest and felt the rapid beating of her heart.

" _I'll be here for you, Meredy."_

His words echoed once more in her head, and she recalled that certain memory at the festival grounds. It was actually during that time that she first started feeling those foreign emotions.

And then she remembered how their lips came in contact with each other. Those  _weird_ feelings intensified once more, so she banged a fist on the tiled walls in frustration.

"What's with you, Meredy?" she mumbled to herself, "That doesn't mean anything! He only did what he had to do." She decided not to think why it had to be her lips of all the parts on her face, but she convinced herself that he didn't really mean to because he was really panicking.

She suddenly remembered that he was waiting outside, and while he indeed was an ice mage who was used to low temperatures, she hadn't read anything about them being immune to common colds. She quickly began the process of bathing, taking the shampoo bottle and soap.

Outside, Lyon was strolling through different channels with a bored look on his face.

" _Oh no, a monster is eating building!—"_

Click.

" _A really, really great price! Buy now for only 99.99 jewels—"_

Click.

" _Now ranking 5_ _th_ _on 'The Wizard I'd Like to Be My Boyfriend' is—"_

Click.

" _We've known each other for years! Don't you love me—"_

Click.

" _What does the fox say?—"_

Click.

Using his other hand, Lyon lazily rubbed a small towel draped over his head. None of the shows were interesting enough for him.

" _RAAAAUUGHHHRH!"_

Click.

" _Now you're tuning in for the daily report on Fairy Tail's Festival event!—"_

Click.

" _The horoscope for today—"_

"Wait." He immediately pressed the 'previous' button, settling for the showbiz channel.

" _Jason here! Today we'll be narrating the cool highlights of today's event! We've had a small dance program in the morning followed by the various booths manned by the Fairy Tail members themselves! A really cool and spectacular bunch, aren't they? One of the most visited booths includes Iron Dragon Slayer Gajeel's Ferris Wheel! Totally cool!"_

A recorded video of Gajeel's interview was flashed on the screen.

" _So how are things going?"_ the interviewer asked.

Gajeel gave him an annoyed look and turned back. _"Fuck off."_

" _Uwah, totally cool, isn't he? Look at the bunch of people in the line!"_

The video went over some people and Lyon felt his heart skipping a beat when he saw a glimpse of the two of them in line.

" _However, the greatest, coolest highlight of today was a surprise by Fairy Tail's Mirajane, along with Freed and Laxus!"_

Lyon stopped rubbing his head, intent on watching the rest of the news, though at the same time, he was almost fearful of what he might hear.

" _It was totally the coolest, most unexpected twist that happened today! Various mages from Fairy Tail and other guilds participated and not one of them totally knew what they were expecting to happen!"_

"What are you watching?" Meredy emerged from the bathroom wearing an oversized bathrobe. She held her damp clothes in one hand, while the other was drying her hair with a smaller towel.

" _Great timing_ ," he dismally thought. He chose not to respond and instead let the program answer for him.

" _Initially, they were trapped by Freed Justine's Jutsu Shiki magic and then eliminated one-by-one by Dragon Slayer Laxus' minimal voltage lightning bolts! Morbid, but still pretty cool, nonetheless!"_

Meredy's hands slowly dropped by her sides when she realized what they were watching.

" _Now you'll see the totally, totally cool twist I was talking about! After being sorted into pairs, the condition in order to be free was to kiss their partner! Kiss! How cool was that?! Now, I have to inform you viewers that the game was suspended when the Magic Council appeared. Now we have Head Captain Lahar to explain why they had to intervene!"_

" _The game seems a bit dangerous," the bespectacled councilman stated, "We heard lightning strikes being concentrated on one spot, and it was something that we couldn't overlook for the safety of the citizens."_

The video then showed footage of Rune Knights going over each participant of the game. Meredy cringed. With the vast number of soldiers over the area, she was suddenly thankful for Lyon despite what he did.

" _However! Not all of the fun was spoiled, since we got to see other pairs fulfilling the condition even before the Magic Council came!"_

The two of them froze when the screen started displaying a video footage of Elfman and Evergreen escaping the cage first, followed by Juvia and Lucy.

" _They are so lovely, aren't they? We were deeply excited with the developments that happened in this span of time! However, the highest, COOLEST highlight of all was done by the famous Ice-Make mage, Lyon Vastia and his secret partner! They kissed the coolest kiss!"_

Both of them unknowingly held their breaths. Meredy felt her cheeks growing hot again.

" _But unfortunately, we weren't able to take a video of them due to the people panicking about the Magic Council! Totally uncool!"_

As if on cue, the two of them sighed in relief at the same time.

" _The identity of the girl remains a mystery at first, so we tried asking several people from the audience if they knew who she was."_

"At—at first?" Meredy repeated. Her heart sunk. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Don't worry," he assured her, "I'm sure no one would tell you out." He greatly trusted his comrades, and he was sure even Gray and company cared enough for her. Though he had to admit, it made him nervous thinking the other possiblity.

" _It was hard to find someone who knew, since even those from Lamia Scale, Yuka Suzuki and Toby Horhorta, admitted that they did not know! Desperate, we even asked from Fairy Tail, but apparently they have no clue as well!"_

Lyon wrinkled his brow. "Then who…?"

" _And guess what! We found information from someone we least expected! Ace of Mermaid Heel, Kagura Mikazuchi!"_

Meredy's jaw dropped. "Ah?"

" _I met her. Her name is Mary, a distant relative of Chelia Blendy,"_ the female mage said with a straight face.

" _Uwaaah! A relative of Chelia, the cool and cute Sky God Slayer? Too bad I don't see her around to ask her personally! Thank you, Kagura-san! That's all for tonight! We intend to interview Lyon-san tomorrow so we'd get information directly from him! Or if we get lucky, we could interview Mary-san herself! Stay tuned!"_

The credits started rolling, which made Lyon turn the television off.

He inwardly cursed. It was enough that Meredy was already being pursued by the Magic Council; now they both had to worry about some paparazzi trailing after them?

Meredy seemed to recover easily. "Um, it's your turn," she said, pointing at the bathroom. She was obviously trying to evade his gaze, as she placed some of her hair behind her ear.  _"Why does he always have to strip?"_

Strangely enough, he noted that it was the first time that he saw her without earmuffs. He stood up. "Alright. By the way, the couch is mine. You take the bed." He gave her no time to argue as he headed towards the bathroom without looking back.

Meredy pouted. "Fine."

She placed her clothes on another chair to dry before jumping onto the soft bed.

"It's actually very comfy here," she mused as the mattress slowly sunk around her figure, "Lucky me, then!" She sat up and took the remote control, turning the television on once again. The screen displayed a cartoon show. Contented, she placed the remote on the side desk and slid inside the comforters.

Minutes later, Lyon emerged from the bathroom in a bathrobe similar to hers. He showed her an amused look when he saw what she was watching.

Meredy smiled in a silly manner. "I miss watching these types of shows."

Lyon chuckled a bit as he sat on the couch. Soon, the ice mage found himself engrossed in the cartoon program as well. Once in a while, he would glance at his companion when she would chortle at the antics of the show. It was then when he realized that she was just a child at heart.

When the show ended, she reached for the remote and turned the TV off, making only the sound of the rain audible in the room. "I'm going to turn off the lights now," she spoke, reaching for the switch beside the bed.

His eyes were already closed and he had his hands behind his head. "Sure."

Upon hearing his approval, she switched the lights off, engulfing the room in darkness. The only source of light was from the lampposts on the street by the balcony.

From time-to-time, Meredy shifted her body, trying to find a comfortable position. She really wasn't sleepy yet, and it didn't help that the darkness provoked her mind to have more unnecessary reflections in life.

With the recent events, all her thoughts only led to one certain ice mage who happened to be on the same room she was in.

" _Stop thinking of him, Meredy!"_ she shifted her position again. _"It's not like he has any feelings for you or anything! Don't mistake his kindness for something entirely different!"_

She desperately wanted to use Sensory Link to confirm his feelings, just to have some peace of mind.

But that would mean that her strong emotions would connect with his as well, thereby indirectly confessing that she was having those weird feelings for him.

"Can't sleep?" she heard him say, causing her to recoil.

Meredy wasn't facing him, but he saw how obviously stiff she was from the illumination from the balcony. He wasn't sleepy himself, so he actually witnessed her countless shambling as soon as the lights were turned off.

"Yeah," he heard her reply back. "Sorry, was I too noisy moving around?"

Lyon sniggered. "A little."

"Sorry," she reiterated, turning again to face him. He was still positioned similarly as before.

"Don't be. I really wasn't sleepy to begin with."

"Oh." She pulled the covers up until the half of her face. "Something's just bothering me, is all."

"Oh, really?" he retorted back, though he wasn't really surprised. Who, in her position, would not be bothered by everything that had happened? He hesitantly continued, "Want to talk about it?"

She wanted to ask him something else, something that had to do with validating what he felt, but she could not urge herself to do so. "Your fan girls."

"Tch." She really had this habit of surprising him, he thought. "What about them?"

"You must've broken lots of hearts with what you did."

He snickered a bit. "That's great, then. That should stop them from following me around."

She smiled sheepishly. "And you know…"

"Hm?"

"You should've at least warned me. I didn't even get to kiss you back. Good night!" And she turned away from him, ending the discussion.

Lyon was speechless. Now  _that_  caught him off guard. With the tone of her voice, he knew that she was probably attempting to make the situation less awkward by joking around. But it had an entirely opposite effect on him when he realized that he was already blushing. Crossing his arms, he shut his eyes completely and attempted to sleep.

Soon, he noticed that she stopped her shuffling movements, and was already peacefully sleeping. He found himself drifting to sleep afterwards, the sounds of the raindrops lulling him to slumber.

However, the peacefulness only went on for the first few hours, and changed when crashes of thunder were heard from the outside. The noises slightly startled Lyon, but what jolted him awake was seeing Meredy's silhouette nervously fumbling through the bed desk. He only observed her through squinted eyes, and watched how she slowly sat up and started moving away from her bed.

It made Lyon sit up from the couch. "Hey, where are you…"

But before he could finish asking, a blaze of lightning hit an area at the street below their balcony, momentarily lighting the room with great brightness. Instantly, Meredy shrunk on the carpeted floor, dropping onto a fetal posture. She also had her hands covering her ears.

Seconds later, a brash thunder resonated throughout the room, lightly shaking the area. At the same time, Meredy whimpered loudly, causing Lyon to sprint towards her in worry.

"What's wrong?" He knelt down and firmly held her trembling shoulders. At first, he assumed that she was afraid of lightning, but then he recalled that she didn't seem frightened of Laxus' lightning bolts during the game.

"E-earmuffs…" she weakly muttered, hands still over her ears. Another thunder strike reverberated and Meredy reflexively huddled closer to Lyon, seeking refuge.

He was startled at the contact at first, but he gradually held her even closer, placing his hands over hers protectively. The quivering lessened progressively, though she still flinched whenever thunder resounded.

Lyon remembered last seeing her mufflers by the sink, so he gently guided her towards the bathroom. He then took the accessory and assisted her in donning it over her ears. It made her calmer, though she was noticeably trying to suppress her tears.

He was still close to her, his hands remaining over her ear mufflers. He gave her a reassuring smile. "It's going to be okay."

She lightly nodded her head, and allowed him to lead her back to her bed. She lied back on her spot as Lyon draped the comforters over her. He said nothing else as he sat on the edge of the bed, looking at her with concern.

Staring at the ceiling, she began speaking. "I have extremely sensitive ears. They said I had this even when I was a child."

Lyon made no comment, and only nodded in acknowledgement.

"I grew up in an orphanage. There were lots of children my age, but I never had any friends at first since my ears were too sensitive. I would only cry whenever someone would attempt to speak or play with me, and I preferred being alone since it calmed my auditory system. Soon, our caregivers learned about my condition and gave me some regular ear mufflers. It reduced the noise I hear, so I finally was able to tolerate playing with others."

She paused for a moment and closed her eyes.

"However, I wasn't able to be friends with them long enough because a dark guild attacked my hometown. Somehow, I survived and I was the only one left, but the whole experience was very traumatizing…"

She brought one hand over one side of her earmuffs.

"The explosions, the blasts that occurred during the destruction were too much for my ears, even if I was wearing my mufflers… I even remember Ur telling me that I won't stop crying when they found me."

She laughed a bit at the memory.

"Afterwards, Grimoire Heart took me in, and I was given a special set of headgear which covered my ears. It helped in regulating my hearing perceptions better. Our former master told me that I shouldn't consider this sensory sensitivity as a negative thing. It was more of a skill, if trained well, so he also thought it was perfect for me to learn the lost magic of Maguilty Sense."

She brought her hand down and held the edge of the comforter.

"When Ur and I left Grimoire Heart, we started training on our own. She tried to get me accustomed to various noises of higher volumes, and soon, my tolerance increased, and I didn't need the special headgear anymore. However, since I'm still mastering my ability in controlling the noises I perceive, I still need the help of regular earmuffs, until now."

Lyon only observed her, trying to digest her revelations.

"To be honest, I just felt frightened because," she paused, and gave an embarrassed laugh, "the crashes from earlier reminded me of the destruction of my hometown. It was dark, noises were everywhere, and I was left alone…"

"There is one big difference, though," Lyon finally spoke, causing Meredy to look at him, "I've said this before. This time, you aren't alone." He gave her a smile. "I'm here, right?"

Meredy gave him a stunned look, but in the end, she found herself smiling back.

"Now sleep," he commanded, raising the comforters until reached her shoulders. "We have to wake up early tomorrow. We have to avoid those paparazzi, somehow."

She giggled a bit, but she complied by closing her eyes. She slid a hand from the covers to place it on top of his. "Thank you, Lyon, for everything."

Her hand felt warm over his cool one. He stared at it momentarily, before shifting his hand and lightly squeezing it in regard. "Of course. Good night."

 


	14. Possibilities

Meredy fluttered her eyes open as she felt the rays of the sun hitting her face. Another morning arose, and it wasn't raining anymore.

Somehow, the sunshine reminded her of Ultear, the person who raised her, the light who lifted her from shambles when everything seemed dark and in disarray.

But now that she was gone, the sunrise only reminded her that another day had passed where she should go on living without her.

She sighed.

She shifted her head opposite the balcony and saw Lyon, who was slouched beside her on bed—his back was leaning against the headboard and his head was slightly tilted sideways. Nonetheless, he was sleeping peacefully. His breathing was quiet and even.

"Whatever happened to you taking the couch?" she whispered, though she didn't really expect a reply in return. She let out an inaudible laugh.

She tried moving up her body but suddenly felt a light mass resting upon her right hand. Eyes travelling downwards, she realized that her hand was loosely cupped inside his.

She simply stared at their intertwined hands for a few moments before slowly freeing her hand, careful not to wake him up. However, the little motions still stifled him awake, as his eyes began opening. At the last second, Meredy quickly slid the hand out to prevent any more awkward situations.

Luckily for her, Lyon was still groggy from sleep and seemed unaware of her previous predicament.

"Good morning," she managed to say, feigning an innocent smile.

He mumbled a greeting back while stretching his stiff neck sideways. "Sorry I slept here," he continued with no apparent emotion.

"After a kiss, now  _we_  share a bed," she said in jest, "If those reporters knew this, they'd have field day!"

Lyon simply rolled his eyes and placed a palm on his face. "Ugh, which reminds me… Those pesky reporters—we're lucky if they haven't found this place yet."

"It's better if we start moving, then!" Meredy jumped out of the bed and frolicked to the chair, grabbing the dry clothes. "Let's get dressed and leave right away!" She advanced towards him and started pulling him out of the bed.

"You seem…very eager, early in the morning," he stated a matter-of-factly, as he allowed her to push him towards the bathroom.

"Not really, I'm really just used to waking up early and leaving a place immediately." She successfully placed him inside the bathroom and held the door knob. "You know, the nature of Crime Sorciere and all. Now get dressed!" And the door was slammed shut, leaving him no time to answer back.

Lyon gazed at the clothes on his hand, and then at the tiled surfaces of the bathroom. "Wait, shouldn't I be the one dressing outside..?"

He sighed.

Thinking that it didn't matter anyway, he started removing his robe and quickly donned his pants, only to realize that she didn't hand him his tunic.

Without thinking, he spun the door knob and headed outside, just in time to see her removing her own robe. Lyon let out a surprised grunt, causing Meredy to turn her head in shock and spontaneously cover her bare chest with the doffed robe.

"Aah—I didn't see anything!" he quickly retorted, whirling back. It was obviously a lie, since he was able to have a good view of her rear side, regardless of the long tresses covering almost half of her back. In particular, he saw a glimpse of her white underwear. His mind couldn't help but compare the contrasting colours of hers and the ones Juvia wore during the Grand Magic Games. Another piece of heaven, he thought. His face felt unusually hot.

Shuffling of clothes was heard behind him before she finally spoke. "You can turn around now."

Hesitantly, he pivoted his feet to face her again, but she was already wearing her dress. "Sorry about that."

She crossed her arms and gave him an amused smirk. "It's okay," she paused, "even if you're lying." When he expressed a shocked, questioning look, she began flailing her right arm, which had the familiar pink seal embedded on it.

Lyon looked at his own arm and saw that he was again connected with her through Sensory Link. "Hey!"

"'Piece of heaven,' huh?"

His face flushed in embarrassment. However, Lyon still crossed his arms stubbornly, clearly not pleased that she sneaked into his private thoughts. "It wasn't my fault that  _you_ dressed  _here_. You should've been the one in the bathroom, not the other way around." He shut his eyes tight. "I personally wouldn't mind you barging out while I was still dressing."

Meredy brought her arms down and chuckled. It made sense, considering that he had no problems stripping in most unexpected circumstances, at least for her. "Fine. It's my fault then. I'm sorry."

Surprised that she gave in easily, he eyed her closely as she released her spell and approached him.

"You see, maybe I was just used to being with Ur and Jellal. Whenever the three of us shared a room, we have already arranged that Jellal fixes himself up inside the bathroom while Ultear and I dress at the much larger room outside."

He noted a distinctive change in her tone when she mentioned her two companions. It sounded as if she had a sad longing to see them again.

When she was a foot away from him, she abruptly hung his tunic over his head. "Still, that doesn't make you less of a pervert." She snickered. "Get dressed, old man."

He grabbed the clothing on his head and donned it easily. "Hmpf."

As soon as they fixed their belongings, they left the room and walked through the hallways.

"This is probably none of my business, but I'm just wondering," the ice mage said as they went down the stairs, "You usually spoke about your relationship with Ultear, but what about Jellal?" Lyon only knew of his reputation as a notorious villain who destroyed the council and fired the Etherion during his time. However, he did learn later on that they actually worked together, albeit indirectly, in defeating Oracion Seis. Lyon didn't know exactly how or when he had a change of heart, but it seemed that the ex-councillor remained being a good-natured individual until his recent disappearance.

"Jellal…" Her eyes appeared indecipherable, as she continued on her tracks. "He was just a victim of unfortunate circumstances, like Ultear."

" _Won't you consider yourself a victim as well_?" he mentally said,  _"You're too modest..."_

She continued further as they reached the halls of the first floor. "We helped him escape prison. He was really distant at first, but lots of things can happen in seven years. Soon, I started considering him as an older brother I never had."

Lyon nodded, leading the way. "I see."

They were about to take a final turn to the lobby when Lyon stopped and backtracked quickly.

"Is something w—" Meredy was unable to continue when Lyon suddenly pulled her away and covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh, they're here," he muttered cautiously.

Faint chattering sprung from the lobby, and Meredy already knew who he was talking about. He released his hand when she nodded in understanding.

"Is there another way out?" she mumbled quietly.

"I don't think so." Lyon surveyed the halls, and eyed the brittle-looking walls. "Unless we break something."

Meredy gave him a horrified look. "No! That'll cause more trouble!"

He chuckled. "I was kidding, of course. I'm not as reckless as that." He brought the key of their room with one hand. "Besides, I still need to check out."

"Ah, of course!" Meredy paused, and brought a hand on her chin. "Here's the plan. You still need to go to the lobby, so you preoccupy them. I'll find a way to escape."

He looked at her doubtfully. "And how would you do that?"

"Don't worry about that." She sneered with confidence, adjusting her bonnet and scarf. "Have you forgotten that I'm a criminal on the loose? I've done this a lot of times."

"Alright, if you say so. Let's meet at the alley nearest the park." He started walking towards the lobby. "Be careful, okay?"

She gave him a thumbs-up. "I'll be fine. I'm more worried about you actually. I don't think it's easy handling  _them_."

He gave her a displeased look, indicating that he himself wasn't amused that he had to deal with them again, but he really had no choice. He finally made the turn and braced himself with the horde of nosy reporters coming his way.

"It's Lyon Vastia-san!"

"Finally!"

"Will you talk about Mary-san to us?"

"Where did the two of you meet?"

"Is it true that she's the next apple of your eye after your heart break with Juvia Lockser?"

"Weren't you with Sherry before? What's her say that you're dating her cousin?"

"What did you do after the game last night?"

"Should we be expecting a baby soon?"

He groaned in frustration as he made his way towards the receptionist, shooing them away as politely as he could. However, the reporters did not seem to be giving up easily.

"Where's Mary-san, anyway?" a female reporter asked, looking around the area.

"Is she there?" another inquired, pointing at the doorway towards the hall Meredy was in, causing Lyon's eyes to widen in panic.

"No, she's not," he countered back, ready to freeze the feet of the reporter. But it was too late, since the reporter already made the turn towards the hall.  _"Shit."_

"She's not here!" the disappointed voice from the reporter announced, earning him collective thwarted sighs from the other media men. "No Mary-san around! It's just an old lady!"

Lyon let out a breath of relief.  _"So she managed to escape…"_

Just then, the reporter emerged from the doorway, followed by slow-moving old woman the former was referring to. Lyon creased his brow as he saw the clothes worn by the old woman. Same scarf, bonnet, dress, cardigan—everything was exactly the same as Meredy's outfit, as he recalled at least. When the old lady was near the exit, she winked at him.

It suddenly dawned to him what she had done, so he proceeded to speak with the receptionist completely while dodging the invasive questions tossed at him. Soon, the reporters grew tired of his elusive answers and left him one by one.

When he was sure no one followed him any longer, he went off towards their meeting place and expected the same old lady he saw earlier. And true to his prediction, she was there.

"Took you long enough," the old lady said with an uncharacteristic tone of a young woman.

"Why didn't you tell me that you can use transformation magic?" Lyon stated, placing a hand on his waist, "That should've saved our efforts in giving you a disguise."

Meredy, in her old lady form, laughed. "That's because I only know the basics. Ur only taught me the simplest type, you see." She cheekily pointed at her untransformed clothes.

"Well, you better stay in that form until we meet up with Fairy Tail. While those media men have given up on me, I'm sure they haven't stopped their pursuit on 'Mary-san.'"

She nodded, leaning slightly forward to mimic a typical grandmother's kyphotic posture. She then coughed. "Yes, I think I can manage that," she said while faking an old lady's voice. This earned her an amused snort from the ice mage.

They both decided that Meredy would walk ahead with Lyon following a few meters behind. It was to avoid more suspicions from the passers-by, although a few people only lingered by the streets since it was still early in the morning.

They were one block away from the Fairy Tail guild house when the ground started rumbling, startling the people on the streets. Before anyone could react any further, a dark ray emerged from the sky, emitting a jarring noise at the same time, and struck an empty space at the middle of the street. The force from the blast however was too strong, causing the people near the area of detonation to fly outward, including Meredy. She was thrown helplessly on the cold ground further away from Lyon, making him run after her. He stopped midway when she lifted a hand, gesturing that she was okay.

An enormous amount of smoke spread from the blast area, fogging the surroundings. From the radius of the explosion, what it seemed like a human figure appeared. Tiny, dark creatures with wings in substantial numbers flew from behind of the silhouette.

Footsteps coming closer were heard, and Meredy, still in her old woman form, turned around to see Gray, followed by Lucy. Looking closely, she saw that Gray had the same shocked expression as the Stellar Spirit mage; however, unlike Lucy, whose expression was directed at the source of destruction of the street, Gray was staring at her.

Finger pointing at Meredy, Gray stuttered. "Y-you're—!"

A loud outburst interrupted him, and they shifted their heads towards the large figure, whose features became more apparent as the smoke cleared. The figure appeared to be a six feet tall man with pale skin. He was wearing a dark armoured robe with a gourd behind him, which seemed to be the source of the spreading creatures. The most distinct article on his body however was the circular tattoos on his face.

"Who are you?" Gray demanded, facing the newcomer, readying himself in offense. Lyon also stood in a similar stance.

"I am the guardian of Behemuth from Portico Dusk!" the man roared, as the dark creatures continued on spreading behind him, "Darkness will soon engulf this place. It is useless to resist, so stand back!"

"I don't think so!" Gray howled back, running towards the guardian. "Ice-Make: Sword!" An ice sword then materialized from his hand and was used to strike the enemy's arm. However, the blade did not cut through flesh and only bounced back. Gray widened his eyes. "What the?"

"Ice-Make: Eagle!" Lyon casted from behind him, but similar results were seen as the ice eagles only rebounded from his skin.

The guardian huffed angrily. "I told you to stand back! And it's useless to attack me; my body is made of impenetrable steel!"

Gray and Lyon stood beside each other, still determined. "As if we'd give up easily!" both said at the same time.

As the two mages continued attacking the dark mage, Lucy approached Meredy. "Are you okay, granny?" she asked and helped her up, still unaware of the latter's identity.

"Don't worry," the Maguilty mage replied, speaking in her normal voice, "It's me."

Lucy was stunned. "M-meredy?!"

Just then, a barrier of Magic Runes sprouted from the ground, creating a cage for everyone within the perimeter. "Fall back, enemy of the council! You cannot escape now," a firm voice announced. It was Lahar, who had just arrived with a few Rune Knights behind him.

Lyon fisted his hand as he let out another ice creature to attack their target.  _"Damn it, more problems."_

"Arrrrgh!" The guardian hastily thwacked whatever ice spells directed at him. As soon as the last creature was released from the gourd, he appeared to quickly survey the surroundings and stopped at direction where Lucy and Meredy were. Unexpectedly, he came running towards them. "RAAAAUGHH!"

Lucy quickly held her keys. "Open the Gate of—AHH!" The guardian swatted the Stellar Spirit mage away effortlessly and grabbed Meredy by the shoulders.

Gray instantly came running towards his guild mate. "Lucy!"

"Meredy," Lyon muttered, eyes filled with both concern and alarm.

"Release the barrier!" The guardian's hand then transformed into a knife; he positioned it dangerously near the Maguilty mage's neck. "Or the old woman gets it!"

Lyon gazed at Lahar to see what he intended to do, but the latter looked equally troubled.

"D-don't make any sudden moves, everyone," the councilman announced, his eyebrows wrinkling.

Lyon shifted his eyes to Meredy and saw that she was looking back at him. Something in her eyes told him to do something.

Without thinking twice, he immediately slammed his hands together, disregarding what Lahar said. "Ice-Make: Wall!" Subsequently, massive walls of ice surrounded them, isolating Lyon and the guardian along with Meredy. The bold move momentarily distracted the dark mage, so Meredy took it as an opportunity to expertly curl out of his grasp and twist the guardian's elbow joint to his back.

"Sorry," Meredy said, as her hair transformed back into its original pink state. Her skin was also smoothing out, becoming less wrinkled. "But you messed with the wrong 'old woman.'"

With great force, she kicked the back of his knees making the dark mage plummet to the ground.

"Maguilty Sodom!" she casted, causing several large blades to emerge from her which passed through the guardian's hard steel skin, directly striking his pain receptors instead.

A shrill cry full of agony was heard inside the ice cage. The people outside the wall, including Gray and Lucy, could only drop their jaws.

"What in heaven's name is happening…?" Lahar could only comment, hesitant whether they should intervene or not.

Inside, Lyon gaped at how she singlehandedly defeated the dark mage. After making a mental note not to mess with her again, he created an opening on the wall which led towards an alley. "You should go," he whispered, remembering that Lahar was still behind the walls.

Meredy gave him a small nod. "Okay. I leave him to you!" She crouched under the hole and began withdrawing.

He eyed her retreating figure through the translucent ice before going over the man who was still howling in pain on the floor. He rumpled his brow. "What's left for me to do with him actually…?"

Minutes had passed, and soon, the Magic Council managed to take control of the whole situation. Lyon was taken in by Lahar as a primary witness of the occurrence. The ice mage complied without resistance.

News of the attack spread easily throughout Magnolia, and panic was prevented by the council who guaranteed the citizens of their protection. Because of this, Fairy Tail was also ordered to temporarily suspend their event, displeasing the master of the guild.

"I don't really like being commanded by the council on what I should do. This is  _my_  guild, after all," Makarov admitted, crossing his arms.

"But in the end, you still followed them, Master," Erza pointed out.

"Of course," Makarov said, letting out an aggravated puff, "As much as I hate those white cloaks, I still have concern over the citizens. I believe this is for the best, considering those hoodlums attacked the town."

Meredy could only watch the exchange of the two powerful mages before her. Earlier, after escaping from Lyon's ice wall, she managed to pass through Lahar's barrier and sneak inside the Fairy Tail guild house. Erza had been the first to see her, who had been running errands the moment the guardian attacked. By the time she returned, everything had been settled and the 'party' was already over.

As soon as Meredy arrived, Erza brought her to Makarov. The guild master had spoken no word as he listened intently to the girls narrating the events concerning Portico Dusk. When they were done explaining, he placed a hand on his chin thoughtfully. "To be honest, I haven't heard of this 'Portico Dusk' before. But if it was able to harm someone like Jellal, this dark guild really poses a serious threat."

Meredy observed how Erza shifted uncomfortably when Jellal's name was mentioned. "Yes..."

Makarov went down from his stool and approached Meredy. He then held her hand, surprising the girl with his gesture. "Rest assured however, we would come to your aid. The dark guild has already attacked Magnolia, so it also brings danger to Fairy Tail. We'll bring down this dark guild together."

Meredy couldn't stop herself from smiling, grasping his hand back in happiness. "Thank you, Master Makarov!"

Makarov's expression then changed into a pleased, senile look as he continued shaking her hand. "Of course, of course! How could I also say 'no' to a beautiful young woman such as yourself?"

Erza grabbed Makarov's shoulder and attempted to nudge him away from the younger mage. "Masteeer," she uttered exasperatingly at her guild master's perversion.

"I have a concern though," Makarov mentioned, as he released her hand, face becoming serious once more, "The only problem is, we don't have any other leads regarding Portico Dusk as of now. We don't know exactly where to start. I might have to speak with the other guild masters."

"Lyon is being debriefed by the Magic Council at the moment," a male voice interjected, "We might get more information from him later."

"Gray," Erza regarded him as he stood next to her.

"We just have to wait for him, then," Makarov decided, crossing his arms once more.

Meredy turned to the ice mage with concern. "How's Lucy, by the way?"

"She's currently being tended to, though she only got some minor wounds. It still annoyed Natsu though. Looks like he's getting fired up to beat up those dark mages."

The Maguilty mage sighed in relief. "I see, good to hear that she's okay."

Gray nodded. "By the way, there's something I need to ask you—"

Hasty footsteps drawing near them however interrupted their conversation.

A frantic male voice exclaimed, "She's here?!"

They turned to see Mirajane and Freed sprinting towards the only mage from Crime Sorciere.

"We've been looking all over for you!" Mirajane cried out, as she and Freed knelt down in front of the younger mage.

"W-why?" The Maguilty mage could only look at them in confusion. They weren't the council or paparazzi, right? What could they possibly need from her?

"We came here to apologize," Freed said awkwardly, looking away from her.

"We had no idea how we almost put you in imminent danger last night." Mirajane held her hand apologetically. "If Lyon hadn't pulled that stunt immediately, the council might have caught you…"

" _Oh,_   _that_." She smiled sheepishly. Just when she thought that she had already forgotten about the incident, it came back to harshly slap her again with memories, causing her heart to skip a beat. But in the end, she came back to her senses and found herself squeezing Mirajane's hand back. "It's okay. It's no problem, really."

"Please don't say that," Freed interposed steadfastly, "We had been rather careless…"

"Plus, you are Gray and Juvia's friend," Mirajane added with an earnest tone, "That makes you our nakama as well. We wouldn't want anything bad to happen to you."

Hearing those words made Meredy feel even more contented, despite all the events that happened to her recently. "It's okay. I forgive you. You didn't know my identity back then, so I'm sure you didn't mean it." When the two looked up to her in surprise, she gave them a smile. "Besides, right now, we have more serious matters to attend to."

Mirajane and Freed looked at each other. "Right, the dark guild," the latter uttered.

Meredy found herself looking at Freed and recalled something. "Wait, weren't you the one in charge of setting the barrier during the game?"

When Freed confirmed that it was him, she began relating how it felt similar to the ones that trapped Jellal.

"I added inscriptions of Dark Ecriture magic when I set up the Jutsu Shiki barriers so it would not be easily undone," he shared, "Perhaps it was the reason why you felt a 'dark' presence."

Meredy bit her lip. "I see."

He continued further. "It's safe to assume that whoever was responsible for creating that barrier you speak of was potent user of Dark Ecriture, or something similar to it." He stood up and patted off some dust from his coat. "I might have to consult with Levy regarding this. We'll look through some well-known Letter magic users and look for connections." He nodded his head politely. "Please excuse me."

As soon as Freed left, Erza told Meredy that she could stay at the guild house while waiting for Lyon. She complied, as she sat on one of the chairs and contemplated on the recent events.  _"Portico Dusk…"_

All of them sat in silence, waiting for news to arrive.

Soon, Lyon was finally at the entrance of the building, together with Jura. The Lamia Scale mages approached the gathering.

"Sorry I took too long, they asked me a bunch of questions over and over again," Lyon admitted, scratching the back of his neck, "However, we did manage to get more information on the dark guild."

Jura nodded. "The coordinates from the Atmospheric and Geophysical Division also arrived, so I discussed it with the Magic Council. It turns out, another dark mage also appeared when the beam hit Magnolia before, and was hiding around the town at first. The council managed to find him, so they are currently interrogating the two captured 'guardians of Behemuth,' as they refer to themselves. This situation is quite unsettling actually, because a number of beams also struck other parts of Fiore, meaning there's a high probability that dark mages are running amok other towns. "

Makarov agreed. "Unsettling, indeed."

"Nevertheless, the council assured us that they have things under control since they already dispatched armies in each town. I was also brought here to tell you something, Makarov-dono," Jura faced his fellow wizard saint. "The Magic Council would like to speak with all of the masters of the guilds in each town affected."

Makarov gritted his teeth in annoyance. "What do they want to speak about? If it's about not interfering with their business with dark guilds again, they should just forget about it. I've already decided that it's time for us to be involved."

Jura's lips curved upwards. "That's exactly what they want to hear. Given the extent of the threat looming throughout Fiore, they decided that it would be better to ally with the legal guilds against Portico Dusk."

Surprised mumbles were heard from the Fairy Tail members present, as well as Meredy. Makarov himself was speechless at first. "That's great news, then!" the old master beamed, "Finally, we agreed about something."

When Jura proceeded to speak more about the council to Makarov in private, Gray took it as the cue to approach Meredy, who was conversing with Lyon about what occurred during the interrogation.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt," the younger ice mage said, "But Meredy, about that something I wanted to tell you earlier…"

Meredy gave him a curious look. "What is it?"

"Should I leave?" Lyon inquired, standing up.

It took Gray a moment to respond. "No, I think you should probably hear about this too."

Lyon nodded and sat back again.

"This is probably superficial compared to the recent events happening, but it really bothers me…"

Lyon clicked his tongue in irritation. "Stop beating around the bush, Gray. Spill it out already."

"Fine." Gray placed his hands inside the pockets of his jeans and looked at the ground. "You took on the appearance of an old lady earlier. Did you happen to have someone in mind when you transformed into her?"

Meredy lowered her eyes. It was true; she used transformation magic to mimic the appearance of the old lady who gave them Ultear's letter. "What if I did?"

Lyon noted how Gray tightly flexed his fingers into a fist.

"When did you see her?" Gray asked demandingly, still not looking directly at her.

"Why are you being so persistent about this?" Meredy immediately spat back, with a hint of spite in her voice. It was the first time Lyon saw her like this.

Gray slowly lifted his head, and voiced the following words more gently. "Because I saw her too, when we were heading home after the Grand Magic Games."

Meredy raised her head too, though her eyes appeared unreadable. Her voice was notably softer. "What are you trying to tell me?"

Lyon's eyes widened when he heard Gray's next words.

"I'm trying to say that Ultear is probably alive."


	15. Parting

If there were any words to describe Gray's feelings at that moment, it would probably be something along the lines of "conflicting," or perhaps, "complicated."

The two people before him were witnesses of his death—or at least, a vision of his death.

But he knew it wasn't just a simple vision; he remembered the sensation of the rays of the dragons impaling his body, the feeling of his own life hanging by the thread until the very last second.

However, the next thing he knew, he was okay again, yet the vivid memories of dying remained plastered in his mind. It was as if time rewound, giving them a chance to foresee the events and making them more prepared for a counterattack.

And he only knew of one person who had the ability to manipulate time.

While a part of him was thankful that he was given another chance to continue his life adventures, guilt overpowered him, knowing of the consequence of having been provided a brand new life.

At first, he only had a hunch of how it happened, but the moment he saw her walking with a cane when he was on the carriage on the way home, he was already sure. He wanted to speak with her, but the old lady only shook her head, as if telling him it was her choice and she had no regrets.

For days, it had bothered him. It came to a point where people around him noticed, but none of them chose to say anything because they did not know what happened. Nobody but Juvia made a move. The water mage told him that he should smile more. She was probably more clueless than he was on how the phenomenon happened, but considering her attachment to him, she was already content in knowing that he continued living, not thinking of the means which made it possible.

After a while, he reflected again and changed his perspective. For sure, Ultear wouldn't want him sulking, and like Juvia, would prefer to see him smiling. Afterwards, he was able to sleep more peacefully and respect Ultear's choice.

However, the feelings came back when he saw the old lady again, although he later found out that it wasn't really her; it was actually her adopted daughter taking over her appearance. The feelings of remorse further intensified, especially imagining how Ultear's decision must've greatly affected Meredy. It was the reason why Gray himself felt rather uncomfortable speaking about the subject at hand.

Nonetheless, he realized how badly he wanted to meet Ultear again, at least for one last time. He then thought of Meredy. He knew that she had gotten to spend more time with the Time mage and had shared more memories with her than he had. He was uncertain of what had happened to them after the Grand Magic Games, but after confirming that they really met, surely, Meredy would want to see her again, right?

However, to his surprise, Meredy began shaking her head.

"No, that's impossible," she muttered, her green orbs incomprehensible, "because Ultear is gone."

Gray looked closely at Meredy, whose face was completely devoid of emotions. He didn't know what to say.

"If I may be frank," he heard Lyon speak. His tone was notably careful. "I always found it odd how you always refer to her as 'gone.'" He paused, as if hesitating to say the next words. "Instead of saying something like 'dead.'"

Her shoulders were noticeably trembling. "'Dead' and 'gone' mean the same thing," she whipped back defensively.

"Look, Meredy," Gray spoke once more, "Don't you understand? The old woman is Ultear! She's out there somewhere! She isn't—"

"I don't want to hear any of this, Gray!" Something in her eyes snapped and she slowly began taking a step back before completely turning and making a run outside.

"Meredy—!" He wanted to go after her, but a hand on his shoulder stopped him. He turned to see Lyon shaking his head.

"Give her some time alone to think," his senior told him.

The image of Meredy with tear welled-up eyes before running off flashed in his mind. Even if he wanted to convince her further, he understood that maybe it wasn't the time yet.

Tentatively, Gray found himself agreeing and returned to his seat.

—

As soon as she was out of the building, her pace slowed down, and before long, she found herself under the shelter of a tree nearby. She leaned back against the trunk and slowly sunk to the ground.

She already knew what Gray was implying from the start. It was written all over his face—they would search for Ultear's whereabouts.

She placed a hand over her face and realized that it was already stained with tears.

If Ultear really wanted them to see her, she should have revealed herself to them instead of leaving a letter to her and Jellal.

Her hands shaking, she absentmindedly fumbled inside her bag, searching for a parchment. She had kept the said letter, and brought it out when she felt a papery texture. It was still neatly folded, yet she didn't need to open it. She already memorized its contents after many nights of rereading it.

' _This is the end of my journey.'_

It was only a simple line, but it never failed to break her heart every time she read it. Ever since they started living together, she had always thought that they would be inseparable, having adventures and defeating dark guilds along the way. And with Jellal, they were unstoppable.

But that was only what she thought, because at the moment, Ultear was gone. Jellal was nowhere to be found too.

She really wanted to see them again.

She laughed bitterly and found herself silly for contradicting her own thoughts.

She heaved a sigh as she wiped her tears. She didn't know what to do anymore.

She stayed under the shade for several minutes, and soon, she headed back towards the guild house again, just in time to see Makarov going out to ride a carriage. Jura and Erza escorted him until the guild master was inside.

"Ah, there you are," Makarov said, referring to the Maguilty mage, as he peered out of the window. "You stay with the guild for a while. Wait here 'til I get back."

She nodded and showed a small smile. "Thank you for your hospitality, Master Makarov."

As soon as the carriage left, the three of them entered the guild house once more. Meredy saw Gray sitting on a stool at a corner alone, and their eyes met. It was inevitable that they would speak again anyway, so she walked towards his direction.

Gray still appeared as sombre as before. "Meredy…"

"Gray." She stopped her in tracks when she was in front of him. "I'm sorry for raising my voice earlier."

"It's no problem. I'm the one who should be sorry." He looked away and bit his lip. "I should've known my limits—"

"I have a favour, though," she interrupted, causing him to look at her direction. "Let's not bring this up again, okay? Promise me you wouldn't go looking for Ultear."

The ice mage gave her an expression of shock.

When he made no immediate response, Meredy continued speaking. "Wherever she is, gone or not, dead or alive, I'm sure she's fine," she muttered softly, ending her statement with a weak smile.

Gray stared at her with questioning eyes before responding in an equally quiet tone. "Okay. I won't."

"Thank you."

Moments of awkward silence followed as neither of the two moved from their spots.

Meredy found herself glancing at the empty seats beside the ice mage. "Where's Lyon, by the way?"

After saying it, she could've sworn that a glint of amusement shone on Gray's black irises, making her slightly raise an eyebrow.

"He's at the guild's library with the others. He said he wanted to look for clues on Portico Dusk." He jumped off the stool and placed his hands inside the pockets of his coat. "Wanna go there?"

She bobbed her head lightly. "Sure."

They entered another hall in a much comfortable silence. Somehow, it felt odd that the man walking beside her had been number one of her to-kill list, once upon a time. It was a good kind of odd, since she much preferred to be friends with him now more than anything else.

As they reached the end of the hall, Gray opened the wooden door in front of them. The first thing that welcomed them was the tall bookshelves around every corner. They turned through the pathways and saw Levy and Freed, who both nodded to them in greeting.

"He must be around here somewhere," the Ice-Make mage stated, turning his head from left to right in search for his silver-haired senior.

A little while after, they finally saw where he was. Lyon was busy browsing through a thick book.

"Hey," Gray called out, causing the older mage to look at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Did you find anything?" Meredy added, stopping just beside him.

Gray noted how Lyon's features considerably softened when the latter's eyes fell on the girl. He let out an entertained snort, but chose to say nothing.

"Unfortunately, no." He shut the book on his hand, causing some dust to bellow out of it. "I've been trying to see if I could find anything on the markings on that guardian's face. For some reason, I think they're pretty significant."

Gray nodded. "Let's try to search on that Behemuth too, or whatever it is."

Afterwards, they settled on their own corners by the bookshelves, cruising through pages of each book that seemed helpful in the subject. However, their silence as the hours passed indicated that they hadn't found anything substantial. Soon, they even felt hunger after many hours of staring at seemingly endless numbers of pages, but luckily for them, Mirajane entered the library and served them some meals.

With her flawless smile, she dictated, "Don't make a mess while you eat, okay? You shouldn't be even eating inside the library!" She then giggled cheerfully before leaving.

A few hours later, Juvia joined them after learning that her favourite ice mage was also there. The water mage also helped in researching about the dark guild, sitting beside Gray who was obviously not amused. Lyon watched them from the corner of his eye, and sighed. Meredy noticed his action and became curious, but didn't comment.

They had no idea how many hours had passed before Levy approached them, saying that it was already half an hour past 6:00 in the evening. They decided to call it for the day and placed the books back on their respective shelves.

"I've read something about Behemuth. Apparently it's a demon from the book of Zeref," Meredy shared as they went out the library, "Nothing else was really known apart from it having guardians, which is something we already know. How about you guys?"

Lyon answered first. "The only thing notable that I read was about the origin of the five circular tattoos on the face of the guardian. It's only a possibility, since I wasn't able to have a good look at the actual details of the marking."

Gray urged him to continue. "Go on."

"There's a reference stating that five circles signify 'five keys of the portal.'" Lyon placed a hand on his chin. "It wasn't explained what those 'keys' and 'portal' are, though."

"That would make sense." Meredy bit her bottom lip. "Maybe the portal could also refer to the dark gate that Jellal and I saw."

"Juvia has a thought. Do you think that perhaps, Portico Dusk is searching for those keys to open that gate or portal?"

Meredy nodded at the blue-haired girl. "That would make sense too."

"These talk about gates and keys remind me of Stellar Spirit magic," Gray voiced out, "Do you think Lucy could help us here?"

"Maybe," Lyon replied as they reached the main guild hall.

They were greeted by the sights of some Fairy Tail guild members casually chatting and hanging around the hall, minus the usual ruckus.

The group was then approached by Erza. "Master contacted us and informed me that he might be back tomorrow. In the meantime, it would be best to just wait until we get the official announcement from him." The Requip mage crossed her arms in her usual firm manner. "In other words, we should rest for today and prepare ourselves for whatever news we might receive."

"Meredy! You can stay at Juvia's place!" the water mage excitedly exclaimed, but her delighted tone briskly declined upon realizing something, "Although, Meredy might be uncomfortable since Juvia's dormitory is only enough for one person."

"She can stay at my apartment." A female voice interjected. It was Lucy who had some bandages plastered on her face.

"Hey, I thought you didn't like guests in your place?" Natsu asked with an upset tone, appearing beside her.

Lucy crossed her arms. "I don't like  _uninvited_  guests. There's a difference, you know."

Meredy smiled sheepishly at their banter. "Thank you, Lucy."

Gray turned to the other ice mage beside him. "How about you, Lyon?"

"I was thinking of going back to Lamia Scale," Lyon replied and looked over at the open guild entrance. "Though, it's getting pretty late, I might stay at a hotel again."

"Transportation routes to other towns have been blocked as a safety precaution by the council ever since the Guardian incident," Erza added, "You'll have to stay here too, Lyon."

The older ice mage shrugged his shoulders. "Looks like I don't have any other choice then."

Gray then began relating to Lucy about the information they gathered and told her about the possibility of Stellar Spirit magic being involved. Lucy told them that she'll try to garner information from her spirits.

Afterwards, they settled their meeting time for the next day, and soon, Mirajane approached the group. The white-haired girl politely informed them that she needed to close the guild house already. They took it as the cue to leave and go their separate ways.

In front of the guild headquarters, Gray adjusted his coat as he started facing east. "So, I guess we'll see you guys again tomorrow." The ice mage started walking away, along with Natsu and Erza who followed suit.

"Yeah, see you," the Stellar Spirit mage said, waving back, as she started walking towards the opposite direction.

"Good night, Gray-sama!" Juvia added delightfully, earning her a grunt in reply from the ice mage. She then followed after Lucy.

Meredy too, started trailing after the girls but stopped when she heard someone utter her name.

The Maguilty mage was probably too familiar with hearing the owner of the voice for days that she knew who it was before turning around. "Yes, Lyon?"

The said male strode towards her way, halting a decent conversational distance in front of her.

She waited for him to say something, but his mouth was unmoving, seemingly out of words. He simply stared at her face, and for some reason, the way he looked at her made her cheeks warm. "Is, is something wrong?"

Before he had the chance to say anything, a distant "Meredy!" was heard behind her. She turned to see Lucy and Juvia waving at her from the distance.

"It's nothing," he finally spoke, causing her to turn back to him. His pupils weren't as dilated as before, but he was smiling. "Good night."

Also left without words, she nodded lightly. "Ah, okay. Good night." She started walking away, waving a hand. "See you tomorrow."

When she saw him respond back with a nod and turned around, she began catching up with the two girls. As soon as she reached them, she noticed how they were giving her cheeky grins.

She furrowed her brow, and found herself echoing what she said earlier. "Is something wrong?"

When both replied, "It's nothing," she felt an odd sense of  _déjà vu_ and tried not to be frustrated with it.

Soon, they began walking, passing by the road beside a river.

"Do you live near this place too, Juvia?" Meredy asked, glancing at the reflections on the deep blue waters of the river.

"Actually, she doesn't," Lucy answered for her with a deadpan tone, "She lives at Fairy Hills Dormitory, along with Erza and the others."

"Oh!" Meredy looked at the blonde-haired mage, who was balancing herself while walking at the edge of the street. "But didn't Erza go the other way?"

The water mage explained immediately. "Juvia will just escort Meredy to Lucy-san's place!" She then crossed her arms and pouted her lips. "Who knows what my love rival will say or do to you!"

"Love…rival…?" Meredy whispered, slightly laughing in between.

Lucy only shrugged while shaking her head in defeat, as if she herself was lost with their situation.

They reached the apartment a few minutes later. Lucy somehow urged Juvia to stay with them in courtesy and prepared a simple dinner. At least for Meredy, they had interesting, animated conversations while eating. Lucy started describing her adventures with Natsu, to the Fire Drayon Slayer's annoying habit of hoarding her food, to even Gray's weird routine of stripping everywhere. Juvia then lashed out at her, stating that Lucy should be ashamed because she likes seeing her 'Gray-sama' naked.

Meredy chuckled. In some way, it reminded her of her short stay at Sherry's apartment, minus the recurring topic of love that Chelia liked to speak about.

But that's what she thought at first.

Because after dinner, while they were washing the dishes, the first question hurled at her by Lucy was, "So Meredy, how was your kiss with Lyon?"

The Maguilty mage almost dropped the plate she was rinsing.

"Oh! Juvia is curious too!" The blue-haired mage started squeezing the sponge in her hand excitedly, causing suds to come out of it. "A man has never kissed Juvia on the lips before!" She then began murmuring something along the lines of hoping that man to be Gray.

The next thing Meredy knew, the two girls were leaning closer and closer to her, eagerly anticipating what her response would be. It made her even more flustered. "A-Ahm, he…"

"Yes?" Lucy's eyes were already twinkling.

"He only did…what he had to do," she continued lamely, causing the girls to fall on the floor comically in disappointment.

Juvia quickly recovered and sprang up. "Yes, he did! But how was the feeling? Juvia wants to know!"

Lucy also jumped back to her feet instantly. "Could you describe it? Is the feeling really similar as if both of you are watching the sunset by the ocean with waves rhythmically hurtling by the shore—"

Meredy stared in horror as Lucy continued spouting poetic words with shimmering resolve. Juvia appeared pleased with what she was hearing and began daydreaming, flailing her hands helplessly.

"—the moment when your faces comes closer and closer and lips go crashing—"

"WAIT!" Meredy screamed, snapping the two girls in front of her back to reality. Her mind was already overloaded with various emotions because of what she was hearing, and she knew that her face was already beet-red. "P-please, stop."

Only the sound of Lucy catching her breath was heard emanating from the kitchen room.

Realizing that the spotlight was still hovered over her, Meredy sighed, knowing that she had no choice but to answer. "I, I can't really say myself. He did it without warning me, so the kiss was already over before I knew it."

Lucy only looked at her speechless before responding, "Oh."

"But… does Meredy have feelings for Lyon-sama?" Juvia asked, looking at her curiously.

Meredy's eyes briefly widened with her sudden question. "Feelings?" She faced the sink once more, and continued rinsing the plate which was previously deprived of water. "If you're talking about love like the one you have for Gray, I'm honestly not sure myself." She placed the newly-rinsed plate on the dish drying rack and shook water out of her hands. "But all I know is that all the times I spent with him, although short, I was thankful." She smiled. "I was happy."

She soon realized that she wasn't looking at them throughout her speech and was confused with their silence. She turned to face them, only to see Lucy with the same speechless expression and Juvia with enlarged eyes. The water mage's eyelids gradually descended to its usual form before her lips curved upwards into a warm smile.

"Juvia sees."

After they finished the rest of the dishwashing chore, Juvia bid herself farewell, stating that she needed to head back to her own dormitory. Afterwards, Lucy urged Meredy to wash herself up first, so the latter complied.

"Do you have other clothes?" the blonde girl asked.

When Meredy told her she only had dirty ones, the other mage gladly informed her that she could lend her some, hurrying back to her room.

The Maguilty mage could only watch without any complaint. In the end, she only laughed. Somehow, Lucy reminded her of Sherry. Though it might have only been because she was both a guest in their respective homes, and was treated politely by them just like any other responsible host.

After taking a shower, Meredy sat on the couch while drying her hair. While waiting for Lucy who was inside the bathroom, the Crime Sorciere mage trailed her eyes on a notebook on the coffee table. Although she knew that she shouldn't be snooping around other people's belongings, curiosity got ahead of her. She grabbed the notebook and took a quick glance.

She realized that it was a handwritten novel.

Scratch that, maybe Lucy was more like Chelia than Sherry.

Similar to Chelia's book, she found herself too absorbed with reading, that she didn't notice that Lucy just exited the bathroom.

A squeak of panic behind her caused Meredy to bring down the notebook in reflex. "Ah! You're reading that?!"

Like a child caught stealing from a cookie jar, Meredy nervously chuckled. "Y-yes, I hope you don't mind."

"I-I…!" Lucy appeared very flustered.

Meredy felt guilty. She began handing the notebook back to its author when Lucy placed her hands in front of her.

"N-no! I don't mind! It's just that… It's not yet done and I'm still not very confident with it yet."

"So you did write it!' Meredy pointed out excitedly. "I think it's amazing. I haven't read everything but this is a romance novel, right?"

Lucy weakly scratched her head. "Yeah… That's the reason why I wanted to have your input too about the kiss. I wanted to make the story believable."

For a while, Lucy discussed her story while Meredy listened fervently. The latter also tried giving input by recalling the novel she read at Chelia's apartment.

Minutes later, both found themselves yawning and they laughed. They took it as the signal to sleep, so they exchanged their good-nights.

The lights were off, and Meredy positioned herself comfortably on the couch. Closing her eyes, she contemplated how truly eventful the past days were. In a span of just four days, she had already met lots of friends, old and new. There was Lucy, Juvia, Gray, Natsu, Erza, Mirajane, Freed, Jura, Yuka, Toby Sherry, and Chelia.

And of course, Lyon.

However, it wasn't all good memories. She lost Jellal, and a potentially powerful dark guild was attacking Fiore.

And amidst all of it, the Magic Council was still after her, and in the end, she was still a fugitive. It was a reality which she could not escape, and she had no choice but to accept it.

She sighed.

The choices Doranbolt gave her then entered her mind straightaway, and it instantly dawned to her how she wasn't making things any easy for her if she continued spending time with her friends. At the moment, she felt like the most logical choice was to leave the country, but by establishing and re-establishing relationships, it would be harder for her to pursue that decision.

She knew she should have stopped earlier, because emotional bonds were much stronger than physical ones. As a user of Maguilty Sense magic, she, of all people, should be aware of that.

Before she fell into slumber, she decided that the next day, she would be an independent mage once more, because that was the way it was supposed to be in the first place.

—

Lyon woke up early the next day. Thankfully, there weren't any reporters disturbing him, so he was able to spend the rest of the early morning enjoying the peace at the park.

Sitting on an empty bench, he serenely watched the flow of water from the large fountain in front of him. He began pondering on how he should be back to Lamia Scale since transportation routes were back to normal. Nevertheless, he considered how guild masters from all over Fiore were still deliberating on the incident, so he might as well wait for return of Makarov, who would generally provide the same information as Babasaama. Besides, he and the Fairies agreed to meet too later on.

After stretching his joints, he placed his arms behind his back and tried to contemplate on other issues. Aside from Portico Dusk, he was also bothered with the issue of Ultear being alive, as well as his apparent unresolved feelings for a certain pink-haired girl.

He had to admit, he really had a soft spot for her. He just wasn't certain to what extent his feelings could grow even further.

He shook his head dismally. Maybe it was for the best that it remained unresolved, since they wouldn't be seeing each other again after all of these.

Besides, what was it that he wanted to tell her last night?

Before he could dwell on it further, his thoughts were disrupted when he heard a familiar voice from the side. "Lyon-sama."

He didn't need to turn to know who it was. Probably, if this occurred months ago and he heard his name coming out of her mouth by her own initiative, he would already be the happiest man on the planet, with his heart bursting with fireworks of happiness.

However, things were different at present. He had already accepted that he had no room in her heart.

Despite knowing that, he could not harbour any ill feelings towards her. He felt that the best thing to do was to let her go and allow her to choose her own happiness, though a part of him wanted to see that dark-haired happiness of hers to at least reciprocate the love given to him. After all, Lyon was still fond of Juvia, though at present, it wasn't as much as before.

He felt it was odd however, that he was able to move on easily. Was 'love at first sight' really love?

He slightly shook his head to brush off the musings. He straightened his back and turned his head towards her. "Juvia."

With no apparent emotion in her face, she approached him. "May Juvia please have a word with you?"

He nodded, and watched her sit on the empty spot beside him.

She started speaking her thoughts immediately. "While Juvia hasn't forgotten that you were once her rival for Gray-sama's affections," Lyon's eye visibly twitched upon hearing this, but made no effort to correct her anyway, "she wants to say this not only for you, but most especially for Meredy."

The mention of that certain name made him more intent in listening to what she had to say.

"Do you remember the time when the two of you arrived here in Fairy Tail?" When he gave a slow nod, she continued, "During that time, Juvia noticed Meredy's smile."

The water mage bowed her head ruefully, clutching the long skirt on her lap.

"The smile. It wasn't as wonderful as the time Juvia first saw her after our seven-year absence."

Lyon noticed how the expression of her face changed into something warmer. She also released the grip on her skirt.

"However, when Juvia and Lucy-san spoke with her last night, Juvia's heart was filled with glee when she saw that glow in her smile again. Juvia has no doubts that you were the reason behind that smile."

Lyon's eyes widened at the revelation.

"For that, Juvia thanks you from the bottom of her heart. You returned the radiance that made her smile beautiful."

His heart was also pounding faster. It happened whenever Juvia was near him before, but at that moment, he knew it was rapidly beating for a completely different reason.

"Meredy is also a dear friend to Juvia, almost like a sister. So please, take care of her, the same way you cared for Juvia and Gray-sama." She gave him a small yet teasing smile. "If possible, perhaps more than that?"

The creases on his brows gradually softened. "Juvia…"

"That's all." The water mage stood up and straightened her skirt. "It's almost time to meet with the others. Shall we go, Lyon-sama?"

Later, they started walking towards the guild house in silence. Lyon was quietly contemplating on their conversation because he knew, something stirred within him because of it. When they were meters away from the Fairy Tail headquarters, Lyon decided to speak.

"Juvia," he said, making the girl turn to him, "Thank you."

The water mage gave him a gentle, sincere smile in return.

—

The group was able to estimate well the arrival of Makarov, because exactly 15 minutes after their designated time, the guild master arrived. He wasted no time in diverting everyone's attention to him. "Hey, brats! Listen up!

With the younger mages gathered around him, Makarov started telling them the system on how they would handle the dark guild. For each guild, there would be designated locations to monitor possible activities from Portico Dusk. They were to report immediately whatever findings they uncovered to their guild masters, or the specific Magic Council member assigned to the specific area.

After dictating the most necessary information, Makarov declared proudly, "We'll definitely destroy this dark guild, because as long as we're together, nothing is impossible!"

A loud, dedicated uproar of "YEAH!" along with fists being flung upwards then erupted from the guild house.

While Makarov was still vigorously rallying the spirits of his guild members inside, Lyon and Meredy quietly headed out, understanding that it was guild-only moment. They opted to stay under the shade of a tree beside the building.

"So, what now?" Meredy asked, pulling her hood over her head to conceal herself, just to be safe. She was back to wearing her usual red dress again, with a new, longer cape over it.

"Actually, I need to go back to Lamia Scale now. I must know the locations assigned to us," he mentioned, as another devoted outcry vented out from the entrance. "Besides, Fairy Tail's making me a bit jealous," he added with a snort.

She giggled. "I see. So I guess this is a good-bye, now?"  _Yes, it should definitely be a good bye, for me and for you,_ her mind spoke.

"Maybe," he replied.  _No, we'll meet again soon,_ his mind countered for certain.

Meredy then gave a grin which didn't reach her ears. "You're going to miss me, aren't you?"

Lyon playfully rolled his eyes. "You wish."

"Thank you again for the adventures," Meredy said with more sincerity this time, "I won't forget about them."

Lyon only smiled.  _I won't forget about you too._

She reached her hand towards him. "Have a safe journey."

Consequently, he brought out his hand to briefly squeeze hers. "And to you too."

Soon, Lyon began walking away, with Meredy watching his withdrawing form. Little by little, the distance between them expanded.

But it didn't matter, because Lyon knew, they would definitely see each other again.


	16. Amorra

A husky scream of agony was heard echoing from an alley.

In the mentioned location, three men wearing dirt-filled clothes dropped unconscious on the ground. Hovering above them was a cloaked figure, who rubbed her hands together to dust off the filth on her palms. She combed the fringes of her pink hair and sighed.

"Pesky thieves," Meredy uttered, glancing at the culprit who attempted to steal her bag. She kicked him one last time, earning her a pained growl from the aggressor.

She secured her bag around her body and adjusted her cloak before walking away from the scene, heading towards the main street of the town she was currently in. It was the fourth time she was ambushed by some random thugs when she started her journey again. She managed to defeat all of them without shedding a single sweat. It regained her confidence in fighting opponents single-handedly again, but only to a small degree, since she recalled the power difference between dark mages and some street hooligans.

She strode through the cemented streets of Rose Town. She tried not to garner much attention by mirroring the pace of the people walking by the streets, effectively blending into the environment despite being a seemingly-suspicious cloaked individual. She avoided having eye contact with the people passing by, as she only intended to pass through town to gain access to their hideout.

Three days had passed since she left the Fairy Tail guild house. It took her some time to convince Makarov that she planned to depart from Magnolia the same day he arrived. The old man argued that it was best if she stayed with them at least after they manage the defeat the dark guild, since the council was still after her. It didn't help that Juvia supported his claims, stating that she would be safer with them.

On the other hand, Meredy tried to tell them that while she greatly appreciated their concern for her well-being, she really needed to go. When Juvia asked her why, the Maguilty wizard claimed that she wanted to go to Crime Sorciere's hideout, where she could obtain supplies.  _"I don't want to keep on relying on you guys forever too,"_  she admitted to them.

In the end, the Fairy Tail mages understood and respected her decision. They allowed her to go, but not before settling on an agreement that Meredy would return after she managed to get what she needed.

" _Meredy is also part of Juvia's family,"_ the water mage told her before she left.

Meredy remembered smiling back then. It was bittersweet, because even without Ultear and Jellal, she indeed had another family, even if she knew that she should stay away from them as much as possible.

She also did not tell Juvia her main intention why she wanted to go. True, she planned to withdraw some jewels from their den, but the bigger reason was that she wanted to have some time for herself. Because for the first time, she felt that there was a need for her to be alone.

By the time she reached the gates exiting the town, she sensed a damp feeling on cloaked head. She looked up the sky to see that it started to rain. A hefty downpour suddenly followed, which opted her to run under the shade of a large tree. She gazed at the several puddles that immediately formed on the ground, mesmerized at the raindrops which broke as soon as they reached contact on the ground. The scenery triggered a surge of memories from her mind.

_Splash! Splash! Splash!_

_They paid no heed to the squelches of mud sticking to the calves of their legs as they hastily passed by a street filled with puddles of murky water. Once again, they were in pursuit by the Magic Council, but not because of their association with Grimoire Heart; they were involved in a jailbreak. It was a bold move to confront the council in their own headquarters, and even if Meredy trusted in Ultear's abilities, she would be lying if she said that she was completely fine with their plan of bringing someone out of jail._

_Meredy was almost out of breath, but she persisted to run, since she could still identify the figures of the angry prison guards who were meters behind them. She had to bite her tongue to resist the urge to cast an offensive spell on them, so that they could gain a better distance away. However, she kept in mind what Ultear told her before they executed their plan._

" _As much as possible, we avoid offense," her mother figure voiced sternly, "Focus in running away."_

_The rain was heavy that day. Meredy thought that it probably made their escape easier, because soon, they no longer felt the presence of the council trailing after them. The chase led them to a forest, and since the rain had not stopped, they took shelter inside a cave._

" _I'll get some wood outside," Ultear said, leaving her in the darkness with the blue-haired stranger._

_Meredy eyed the man they broke out of prison. He was also sitting on the cold ground and was heaving heavily, still catching his breath similar to her. He had a ruffled appearance, and by the looks of the ribs protruding out of his chest, Meredy could confirm that he had not been eating at all._

_She continued observing him without saying a word. She did not feel inclined to speak to him, since he did not even make any movements whatsoever to recognize her presence. Besides, what was she supposed to tell him, anyway?_

_Ultear only told her beforehand that he was someone whom she had greatly wronged. She did not elaborate any further, but Meredy did not mind. Maybe she was just too young to care._

_Eventually, Ultear emerged back from the rain while embracing some firewood. She used her Arc of Time magic to revert the wood and their clothes back to their drier state. Meredy noted how Ultear looked tenser than usual, seeing her struggling in making a fire._

_For the first time, she heard his voice. "Let me."_

_Ultear seemed taken aback by his reaction. "Are you sure, Jellal?"_

_Jellal. So that was his name._

" _Yes. Your element is ice," he spoke in a low voice, "This job…is more suited for my magic." With a flick of his hand, a ball of flames emerged from his fist and set the wood on fire._

" _Your memories," Ultear quietly said, "have they…?"_

_Whatever Ultear wanted to ask about his memories, Meredy did not know, as her statement was followed by silence. The pinkette turned to Jellal, but he remained unmoving._

_The muteness went on until sundown. Soon, Meredy felt the heaviness in her eyelids, but she tried to resist it when she saw that the two adults were still wide-awake. Nevertheless, Ultear probably noticed her struggle and instructed her to sleep. The younger mage protested at first, but when Ultear patted her head affectionately, she found herself complying and positioned herself on the ground. She quickly fell asleep._

_She did not know how many minutes have passed, but she was awoken by the sound of someone sobbing. She slowly opened her eyes and saw the dim light from the bonfire burning out. It was not raining anymore, and the darkness indicated that it was still night time. Ultear and Jellal were no longer in their original positions and were instead sitting at a distance from her, near the cave entrance. Perhaps she was still drowsy from her sleep, but their voices were muffled. She was not even sure if someone was really crying. As much as she wanted to eavesdrop however, she simply was too tired and drifted back to slumber._

_The next morning, Meredy woke up to the sound of the birds singing. When she opened her eyes, the first person she saw was Jellal. Ultear was nowhere to be found._

" _She left to get us some food," he said. To Meredy's surprise, he was finally looking at her, actually acknowledging her existence this time. It was unlike last night where she felt as if a thick wall was separating the two of them._

_She honestly still did not know what to tell him. She hadn't had a slightest clue on socializing or mingling with other people, thanks to her stay in Grimoire Heart. Nonetheless, all she knew was that something inside her wanted that wall between them to crumble. "I'm Meredy."_

_She noticed the brief widening of his eyes when she said it. After a pause, he gave her a thin smile. "Jellal."_

_Neither of them spoke afterwards. Meredy thought he wasn't a very talkative person, but she didn't mind._

_When Ultear returned, they ate the food quietly. She also provided Jellal a new set of clothes. When they were finished eating, they started moving their feet again, knowing they couldn't stay in one place for long._

_That day marked the start of their journey together._

Up until present, Meredy was not really sure how they came up with the decision of taking on dark guilds as a way of atoning for their wrongdoings. When Ultear told her that she planned to break Jellal out of prison, the Time mage never really told her what their plans would be afterwards. Meredy wasn't sure if it was simply because she never asked, or Ultear herself did not know until their plan succeeded.

When Jellal joined them, Meredy noticed that he and Ultear always had some private discussions at night. She never took part in the conversations since Ultear constantly told her to sleep beforehand. Meredy did not mind, because her experience in Grimoire Heart told her that she should not snoop around in adults' businesses. Their secretive talks continued even when they started training (since Jellal needed to condition his body back to how it was before), until one day, when Ultear told her that they were going to ambush the headquarters of one dark guild.

The fight ended up winning in their favour. It was also the first time Meredy witnessed the grandness of Jellal's power.

Even if they hadn't decided on the name of their guild yet that time, that moment was the debut of Crime Sorciere.

Meredy smiled. Those were the days.

The rain stopped and she continued walking. She made a series of turns in the forest, searching for one particular tree. When she finally reached it, she crouched in front of it and hovered her hand over the moist soil surrounding it. From an outsider's point-of-view, the tree looked nothing special and it appeared no different from the ones surrounding it; Meredy, however, was certain that it was their hideout.

In reality, it wasn't really what one would call a  _hideout_. It was more of a storage area where they deposit some valuables.

Still crouching, she whispered a series of incantations, causing a blue aura to radiate from the tree. Meredy watched as a hole slowly appeared in the middle of the trunk. When it was big enough, she snuck her hand in and grabbed a small bag with a decent amount of jewels inside.

She briefly peeked inside the sack. "This should be enough for me to last a month," she uttered to herself. Standing up, she sealed the tree by doing a series of brisk hand movements. As soon as the enchantment was done, the blue aura disappeared, leaving the tree as average as it looked like before.

She opened her knapsack to see that she still had Lyon's mantle with her. "I wonder how he's doing," she pondered, smiling slightly, before placing the sack of jewels inside her bag. She turned her heel and started walking away.

As she strolled by the trees, Meredy tilted her head up towards the sky. Since she already obtained what she needed, thoughts of heading back to Fairy Tail began surging through her mind. However, she suddenly stopped in her tracks when she noticed something.

The rain clouds were gone and the sky was clear, but something felt odd. She momentarily lifted one portion of her ear mufflers.

It was quiet.  _Too_  awfully quiet.

The exact moment she donned the ear muffs back on, a loud explosion erupted from another part of the forest. The strong force violently swept away her hair and cloak behind her, but she was far enough from it not be blown away.

Okay, scratch the plan of going back to Fairy Tail. That explosion definitely was not normal, Meredy thought, as she hurriedly headed towards the origin of the blast.

The area was much farther than she anticipated, by the time she reached it, most of the smoke had been cleared. No threats were in sight, and about five persons were lying out cold in the ground.

Quickly, Meredy approached the nearest body—a heavily-muscled man who had long, spiky, aquamarine hair. She grabbed his wrist and tried to feel his pulse. Luckily, there still was, albeit weak.

She then eyed him closely, looking at the tattoos on the man's upper arms.

"Are these guys mages?" she wondered, but before she had the chance to check for guild marks, she felt an ominous presence behind her, causing her to abruptly somersault before it had the chance to hit her.

When she regained footing, she faced the assailant and cringed at its sight. It was a pure coal black creature, about 8-feet tall. Its body structure was similar to a human with a large built, almost comparable to the unconscious man, though his face appeared demonic. Its ruby red eyes were staring intently at her with murderous intent.

Meredy however was not easily fazed. She had faced multiple demons before. Summoning her magical power, she flexed both of her shoulders and casted, "Maguilty Rays!"

The creature easily deflected the yellow blades, much to Meredy's displeasure. It hurled its arm towards her and attempted to scratch her with its sharpened claws. It only managed to slash an empty cloak as Meredy was fast enough to doff it immediately.

Being fooled, the creature appeared to be greatly frustrated and screeched loudly, its shriek causing the whole trees around them to reverberate. When it was too distracted with its apparent emotions, Meredy took it as an opportunity to cast another spell.

"Maguilty Sodom!" and out came the teal blades which immediately struck the body of the demon. The attack caused the demon to wail even louder, but its screech had a much different effect aside from an ear-splitting discomfort.

Meredy placed a hand on her chest and started panting heavily.

"What the…"

It felt as if her energy was being drained.

"Why am I…feeling weak…?"

Bit by bit, her eyes widened in realization.

The fatigue she felt was similar to how the dark gate absorbed her and Jellal's Eternano back then. No doubt, the demon she was facing was from Portico Dusk.

She looked over at the knocked out wizards and began to wonder if that was how the demon managed to defeat them.

The demon gave her no time to ponder on her thoughts since it started to charge towards her again. It lifted its arms again, preparing to attack. "RAAAAUGHHH!"

Meredy sidestepped just in time, though it managed to scratch her leg due to her depleting energy. She clicked her tongue. The wound was painful, but she couldn't give up. "Maguilty Beams!"

The beams that emerged from her body directly crashed onto the demon's body, causing blood to spurt out from its affected parts. The creature howled in pain and stomped its feet on the ground angrily. It began to eat up her magical power again, weakening her even further. Meredy still had not lost hope however, and casted another spell with all her might.

The exchanges of attacks between Meredy and the demon went on, and the Maguilty mage managed to land direct hits. The demon's body was rashly wounded from attacks; however, it doesn't appear to be as weary as she was. Meredy deduced it might have been due to the demon absorbing her magical energy each time she seriously wounded it. Looking closely, its injuries even appear to be slowly recovering.

"Oh no, what should I do?" She gasped for air as she barely evaded a hit from the creature. "I can't just give up…"

She felt only a diminutive amount of Eternano from her magic container. At that rate, she could only muster a few spells before passing out like the rest of the mages around them.

"I've already used all of the offensive spells I know. What should I—"

Her green orbs brightened.

Wait.

She slightly bent her knees and gathered her Magic power on the tips of her right index and middle fingers. Starting from the top, she spun her arm while whispering an incantations as the creature slowly drew near.

She closed her eyes, desperately hoping it would work.

_Maguilty Amorra._

" _What's that, Master?" a young Meredy asked curiously._

_It had already been months since she stayed in Grimoire Heart. For the first few days, she was undeniably uncomfortable, but as the days passed, she grew accustomed to the place and perhaps even grew to love it. The mages in the guild were quite nice to her (especially Ultear), and even taught her how to use magic. Not only did it help address her concerns with sensation, but it also prevented her mind from thinking of her traumatic past._

" _It's what you would learn for today. Quite similar to Maguilty Sodom, but not quite at the same time." Master Hades was beside her, the book of Maguilty Sense in hand. It was another day of her training with him. They met once per month, and each time, the guild master introduced a new spell—provided that she was able to master the spell that was taught to her previously._

_So far, Meredy had mastered each with ease; she felt that this Maguilty Sense magic really was meant for her._

" _What do you mean by that, Master?"_

" _Hmm. I guess it's better if there's a demonstration."_

_The master clapped his hands, and two of his cronies emerged from behind him. They held onto a struggling man with bound hands. Meredy watched as the person was placed a distance in front of her._

" _Now, attack him with your Maguilty Sodom. You have mastered that already, right?"_

_Meredy nodded and complied with no qualms. During the course of their training, they had always used living people as targets. She had no clue whether they were prisoners, slaves, or captured men; Meredy tried not to care. Master told her that she should always be in charge of her emotions, and not the other way around."Maguilty Sodom!"_

_The teal blades slashed through the bound man's body, causing him to fall on the floor and cry out in pain. Meredy simply observed him, trying to block out sympathy on her prey._

" _Each blade of Maguilty Sodom specifically attacks the superficial pain receptors of your target. Have you ever been cut by a paper before?"_

_The young mage slowly nodded._

" _To put it simply, think of the pain of Maguilty Sodom as equivalent to the feeling of thousands of paper cutting through your flesh."_

_She nodded again with understanding. "What about Maguilty Amorra, then?"_

" _The mechanism of the attack of Sodom and Amorra are quite similar; however, instead of the superficial pain receptors, they target the receptors which are more deeply imbedded in the body. It's much more complex the Maguilty Sodom."_

" _I see," Meredy voiced, "But Master, I don't really see why it's more complex than Maguilty Sodom, if the mechanism is similar."_

" _Yes, I'll let you read on this spell later on." Hades closed the book and handed it to the young girl. "But to generalize the thought of this magic, superficial pain receptors are spread throughout the whole body, making it easy to hit. Deep pain receptors, however, are fewer in number, meaning in order to hit them, you must know their exact locations in your target's body."_

_She took the book from his hands and contained it in her arms. "But how do you know the locations?"_

" _It takes time; you must analyse the structure of your opponent first." When Meredy wrinkled her eyebrows, Hades continued even further. "You know, Maguilty Sodom is actually more painful than it is. Plus, Amorra has some serious side effects if they happen to miss."_

_Meredy frowned. "That sucks. Why should I even learn it then?"_

" _I'm not done yet." The master appeared to be quite amused with the change of her tone. "You see, Amorra could potentially be more powerful than it appears to be, provided that you strike one specific area."_

"Maguilty Amorra!"

A bright fuchsia beam glimmered out of her fingers and hit an area at the right part of the creature's torso. Suddenly, Meredy's line of sight brightened momentarily, before blurring out. Everything also appeared to be whirling, but she still tried to run away from the creature's direction even if she found it hard to feel her own joints as she ran.

"Crap, the side effects…" she said weakly, as she told to reorganize her sensations again using her remaining magic power. When her vision became normal again, she faced the demon once more and casted the spell again.

But the creature was too restless, and the shot missed. Immediately she felt the side effects again, which was much graver than the first one. Apart from the spinning and blurred surroundings, the air suddenly felt too cold for her this time, causing her to shiver, and her body felt heavy.

Because of this, she did not notice that the creature was already in front of her. It hastily whipped its arm onto her, causing her to collide onto a trunk of a tree.

"Ugh," The crash truly hurt, and she slowly slipped down the rough surfaces of the trunk. When her vision cleared, she realized that the creature was once again coming its way towards her. "I-I can't miss anymore…!"

Her hand was quivering, but she tried to charge what's left of her magic power onto her fingers once again. She pointed it at the center of the creature's chest.

"' _Center of the torso, specifically the sternum, at the level of the manubrium,'" she said, reading what was written on the book._

_Hades smirked. "Exactly."_

"Maguilty Amorra!"

And the beam that emerged plunged exactly onto the area that she was intending to hit. The spell did not create a hole onto its body unlike Maguilty Beam, but for a while, the creature appeared stunned with the attack. During those moments, Meredy held her breath as she anticipated if it really was effective.

However, the creature started moving again, and Meredy's heart sunk. She no longer had enough power to fight back.

Was it the end for her?

And the question was immediately answered afterwards, because slowly, the creature began dissipating into the air. Meredy could only watch until nothing of it was left, leaving the area empty of any demonic beings. Looking above, she saw that the stolen Eternano had been released, making the surroundings twinkle as they fell onto the ground.

Meredy stood up from where she was and dragged herself on the area where the demon had been. She cruised her hand through thin air, just to make sure that it really was gone. Little by little, she felt that her magic containers were being filled again.

" _Theoretically," Hades began to say, "If you hit that area, you should be able to strike the target's deep magic container—in other words, the source of Eternano, a mage's magic power."_

Meredy clutched her hand tight, before releasing it again.

"It worked..." she voiced in relief. Her eyes trailed down the unconscious persons around her. "I should probably help them…"

However, before she had the chance to aid them, a great white light struck her from behind, making her fall unceremoniously down the ground. Her face hitting the ground first, she had no clue where the attack originated from, but because she had not fully recovered yet, she too, found herself blacking out, similar to the people around her.

—

In another place not so far away, Lyon was roaming around the streets, looking for one particular cabin.

He happened to be assigned to monitor Portico Dusk activities within Waterlily village and check if anything was suspicious. Waterlily village was an area he was hoping to be allocated to for one simple reason—it was the location where  _that_ certain person was allegedly staying at.

During his break, he finally found the hut he was looking for; it was a wooden cabin which was near a cliff, overlooking the sea. Lyon smirked.

"I finally found you," he said, "Ultear."


	17. Misunderstandings

Cold brushes of the wind tickling her skin. Faint whispers traveling to her ears. The stench of dirt and blood making her dizzier by the second. Meredy groaned in pain.

Slowly, her senses were returning to normal, the thresholds adjusting back to its regulated state. Remembering that she was attacked from behind and was possibly captured, her first instinct was to resist, yet the only movement she could muster was a frail tug of her head. The realization that her physical strength remained in a weakened state instantly sunk in. Soon, she also grasped that her hands were bound behind her, and her world was upside-down as she was being carried over someone's shoulder. They were walking in a normal, notably careful pace, but towards what place, Meredy had no clue.

She perceived a low, modulated voice from her left asking if she was awake, though the question was not directed to her.

"Hmm, I don't think she is," another with a much higher pitch remarked, "But it would be okay. I don't think she'd be able to move."

Knowing that she could not fight back in her current state, Meredy continued pretending that she was still unconscious as they believed. Through squinted eyes, she attempted to marginally turn her head to see how her captors looked like—the high-pitched one, in particular, since he was the closest—but whatever it was only flapped away. A winged creature, she assumed.

"Do you think she really attacked our comrades, though?" another person with a suave tone commented, "Based from my memory, she simply stood in the middle of the field when we arrived."

The person with the low voice agreed. "To be honest, I have doubts as well. I think attacking her was a bit too reckless."

The person who was carrying her shifted her weight and finally spoke. "I acted out of impulse, alright? I was just too worried when Orga's team haven't returned yet…."

" _Comrades?"_   Was she just mistaken as the attacker of the unconscious people around her before?

Before she could listen any further however, the reception of her auditory senses shifted once more, making her unable to hear anything. She cursed inwardly; she was wrong to think that the reverberations of using Maguilty Amorra were over. It still affected her body and she was struck by a deep pang in her chest. This caused her to groan louder in pain and while she could no longer hear their voices, she knew it was not unnoticed by her captors as they stopped walking.

She felt herself being carried off whoever's shoulders and being cautiously placed on the ground. She attempted to flutter her eyes open, but everything looked bright, too painful for her hypersensitive eyes, so she shut them close. Her auditory reception briefly adjusted back to normal, and she was able to grasp bits of their conversation.

"…what's happening…"

"…do something…!"

Two hands firmly held her shoulders in place and a voice told her to calm down. However, due to the side effects of the spell, the mere touch was too agonizing for her tactile system, so she winced and quickly pulled her body away. Tears trickling down her eyes, she whispered for them not to touch her, and she was thankful that they complied without hesitation.

Silence followed, and she was unsure whether it was due to her faulty hearing or they simply were not saying anything. Clinging onto the hope that her captors weren't as bad as she first assumed them to be, she struggled to speak. "I'm…not…"

A last wave of pain recurred in her body once more. The throbbing felt too unbearable and she was desperately trying to free her hands. Her captors seem to understand the message and cut off the binding on her hands. Instantaneously she clutched her chest tight to ease the pain.

"I'm not," she whispered as she gasped for air, "a bad person…" She momentarily opened an eye and saw a faint silhouette of a boy with spiky hair which was styled in a manner that reminded her of a certain dragon slayer from Fairy Tail. When her vision became clearer, she learned that the boy had blond locks, and beside him were two of his companions who appeared wary and concerned at the same time. One of them, who wore a mask and a flamboyant-looking hat, waved a hand in front of her, which emitted a wave of spell. It made her eyelids feel heavy.

The blond boy was startled. "Rufus, what are you doing?!"

Her eyelids completely shut on their own. Their voices were fading away, and so was her consciousness.

"…a spell…make her feel at ease…"

And fading.

"…bring her to the guild fast…"

"…let's hope she'll be alright…"

"…thinks so too…"

Hearing a gist of their conversations somehow made her feel better. She had no clue what happened next, as everything around her was enveloped in darkness.

When she opened her eyes again, she learned that she was no longer in the open field, judging from the ceilings with elaborate patterns which blocked her view from the skies. Instead of the hard, rough surfaces of the earth, beneath her was a rather comfortable cushion which cradled her body worn out from the previous battle. The mysterious men were no longer present.

"Oh, you're awake," a soft, feminine voice remarked, making Meredy turn towards the source.

In the middle of the room, another girl remained sitting on a chair a distance from her, warily watching her movements. Short, light tresses framed her innocent-looking face which displayed an expression Meredy could not pinpoint. It was not entirely unwelcoming, yet it was not one of friendliness either. She assumed that the girl was on guard duty.

Unsure whether she should respond to the girl, she chose to slowly sit up from the couch, slightly wincing from the pain in her body. The action earned her a startled reaction from the guard as she swiftly brought her hands to a set of keys hanging on the belt of her waist.

"I-I don't think it would be wise of you to make any sudden movements," the girl said with a voice markedly feigning confidence.

Meredy blinked twice, and glanced back at her own body. Aside from wearing a fresh set of clothes, she realized that her wounds were also completely bandaged. She turned back to the girl and saw her relatively twitch.

Meredy sighed and rested back again. "You may be right."

When the girl gave no verbal response, the pinkette's eyes trailed back to her. For some reason, the Maguilty mage found no reason to be hostile to the light-haired girl. Meredy wasn't sure if it was simply because she was too weary from her previous fight, or if it was because she did not sense a dark aura emanating from the guard. Besides, her 'prison' looked far too homey for it to be a dark guild's headquarters, judging from the ornate lamps, carpets, and other furniture around the room.

However, her guard appeared to be feeling the exact opposite. She was _too_ jumpy for her own good.

"You should relax a little," the Maguilty wizard said with a small smile, "I won't hurt you."

Her words seemed to calm the girl even for just a bit as her shoulders relaxed, though her hands remained on the metal ring.

Looking closely, Meredy learned that they weren't just some ordinary keys; they looked too sophisticated—Celestial Spirit Keys?

" _But_ o _f course, not unless you hurt me first,"_ Meredy added in her mind.

Stillness filled the room for the succeeding minutes. While Meredy had no doubts that she actually felt physically comfortable at that moment, the fact still remained that she definitely had no clue where she was. Realizing that her guard would not fill in the details, at least not by her own initiative, Meredy decided to ask for herself. "Where exactly am I?"

The girl did not immediately respond, as if she was having second thoughts whether or not she should answer. "You're in our guild house."

"I see, but I'm not in a dark mage's hands, am I?" Meredy asked half-humouredly.

The creasing of her eyebrows and the ambivalent expression on the girl's face told her that it wasn't a question that she expected. "No, you are not."

Meredy huffed out in reassuringly. "Ah, that's a relief to know."

Glancing back at the girl, she learned that the feeling still wasn't mutual, since the girl was remained cautiously holding onto her keys.

"I already told you that I wouldn't hurt you, right?"

The girl said nothing. It seemed that she remained unconvinced.

Sighing, the pinkette thought that they should probably start things right. "My name is Meredy."

The girl's eyes still gleamed with uncertainty, but she introduced herself back. "Yukino."

The tension in the atmosphere lessened to a degree, much to Meredy's relief. "Were you the one who treated my wounds?" the pinkette inquired, gazing at the bandages wrapped around her body, to which Yukino simply nodded. Meredy replied with warmer smile. "I see, thank you."

Her response seemed to catch Yukino off-guard, causing her to finally release her grasp onto the metallic ring. "Y-you…"

"I didn't attack your comrades, if that's what you're thinking," Meredy said straightaway, remembering the exchange between the men who she now assumed were Yukino's guildmates.

Silence prevailed in the room once more, and Meredy knew that her words were not enough to convince Yukino of her innocence because there were not any witnesses.

"Your guildmates, how are they?" The Maguilty mage also knew that her release relied on the testimonies of the one attacked by the demon from Portico Dusk.

Yukino looked away, placing a hand onto the opposite arm. "One of them is conscious right now, but he's still resting." Meredy noticed her trembling hand. "And he's even one of Sabertooth's strongest. If you weren't the one who did it, then the culprit—"

The door of the room briskly opened before she could continue, revealing a dark-haired man with messy black locks covering a side of his face. Meredy recognized him as one of the men who captured her earlier. He muttered something to Yukino, which made the girl stand up from her seat. The man gave a quick look at Meredy before turning back towards the door, with Yukino following behind him. She also gave her one uncertain glance before exiting the room, leaving Meredy alone with her thoughts.

Sabertooth.

Meredy was aware of their reputation as the strongest legal guild in Fiore for the past seven years, with Fairy Tail only breaking their record after their return. She would have been relieved knowing that she was in the hands of a guild with a great status, but unlike Fairy Tail or Lamia Scale, she knew no one from the guild, leaving her doubtful whether they could be trusted or not. It did not help that she had heard rumours about it having extremely high standards when it came to recruiting members, which said a lot about the guild's values. She was unsure if that was still how they managed things at present, since she also heard that after the Grand Magic Games, they elected a new guild master.

Troubled with her thoughts, Meredy felt that she should leave the place as soon as possible. Ignoring the pain from her aching body, she stood up from the couch and tried to tinker with the glass windows, only to find out that they were wholly encrypted with magic runes. Already fearful of what it possibly implied, she carefully walked towards the door with arms in front of her until a transparent barrier prevented her from going past Yukino's chair.

"Again?" Meredy sighed in defeat, rubbing her hand through the barrier. How many times had she encountered these cursed walls for the past few days? It seemed like a cruel joke which ultimately gave a reminder that a criminal like her deserved a life behind bars. She fisted her hand and slammed it once on the transparent obstacle. Her knees slowly gave in, making her sink onto the floor.

The door opened again and only Yukino entered the room, who appeared to be surprised at Meredy's state.

The pink-haired girl refused to look at her, ashamed that she was caught in such as pitiable sight.

Yukino regained composure and began to speak. "We…already talked with Orga-sama, you know, one of my guildmates whom you…encountered. He confirmed that they were attacked and knocked out by a demon. He says he recalls having a glimpse of you fighting the said demon before he completely lost consciousness."

Hearing Yukino's words, Meredy glanced up to her with a face full of hope. "So, does that mean you'll let me out now?"

"I'm sorry, Meredy," Yukino said with a sad smile, "but I'm afraid you can't leave just yet."

—

Not many miles away, a carriage moved towards a target city in a constantly moderate speed. Within it was Lyon, along with a handful of documents containing information of Portico Dusk activities in Waterlily village.

" _Or rather, the lack thereof,"_ the Ice-Make mage thought. His three-day stay at the village had been peaceful, and there had not been a speck of the guild sensed throughout. Others might think it was a good thing since there were no encounters, but it also meant that they did not have any leads regarding the dark guild.

However, his visit was not exactly unproductive—because in Waterlily village, he also obtained various revelations from a short, yet meaningful conversation with a certain lady.

Perhaps if fate had been a lot nicer to them, they would have met and crossed paths under better circumstances. After all, both of them should have been connected because of Ur—his mentor and her mother.

Perhaps, they could have been good-natured rivals like he was with Gray.

Perhaps, they could even have been friends.

Yet fate was not a very pleasant entity, and the two of them were submerged in different kinds of darkness in a certain period of their lives.

Despite that, they were still given a chance to redeem themselves and live better lives. He found it funny how both of their lives were changed through the help of the same person, whose life was also influenced by Ur.

Perhaps fate still had a bit of kindness in it, because they came across each other _again_ under circumstances wherein their lives were no longer controlled by darkness. 'Again,' because they apparently met during their dark times.

That was the first revelation that shocked him. Before he set foot in the cabin, he presumed that it was their first time to meet each other personally, yet she disproved it by saying that they worked together before. Though to be fair, she shared that he probably wasn't aware of her real identity because she was under a disguise.

She apologized for her actions, and he accepted it without second thoughts. It was all in the past, and besides, he could not really blame her for everything, since he himself was too blinded by his own dark intentions.

Her second revelation also shocked him, but to a different degree. It was when he told her of his intentions of visiting her.

" _Only tell her when she's ready."_

Those were Ultear's words that especially marked in his mind.

Time was running out, so he did not understand her line of reasoning. However, he still intended to respect her decision, meaning there was only one way to deal with the current situation.

He needed to find Meredy, fast.

He needed to make her ready.

Of course, he knew that his present mission was also significant. With the recent events concerning Portico Dusk, cooperation among guilds were highly necessary. The headquarters of the six strongest guilds in Fiore were strategically located in various distanced locations throughout the continent, so the council assigned them the tasks to disseminate and collect information from villages or towns nearby. Concerned wizards were then expected to submit documents to the nearest city where one of the six guilds reside.

He soon reached the city, with only a few people bustling in the streets. It was not surprising considering the heightened amount of security recently from each town. After grabbing a snack from a store, he strolled through a park which seemed to be the nearest way towards his destination.

"Aren't you… Lyon-san from Lamia Scale?"

Lyon turned to see a familiar-looking teen with equally spiky hair, though his were golden in shade. The ice mage nodded in regard. "You're Sting Eucliffe, Sabertooth."

The blond nodded. "I assume you're here to submit some reports?"

"Yeah, good thing you're here," the ice mage said, handing him the paperwork, "Saves me the travel time."

Sting took the documents from his hands and tucked them under his arm. "So, the summary of the report?"

Lyon crossed his arms. "Nothing significant, really. We didn't encounter any Portico punks in the village. You? Anything to update?"

"I see. I haven't heard from other guilds yet, but we're having some leads here in Sabertooth."

"Really? So you've encountered them?"

Sting shook his head. "I haven't seen them myself, but one of my teams battled one of its demons."

"So, is it safe to assume that they managed to win against the demon?"

Sting didn't answer immediately. "Well, if you put it that way, yeah."

"So what did they find?'

Sting scratched the back of his neck, giving an awkward smile. "Actually, I don't know the exact details yet. My comrades are still recovering."

"I see." When Sting no longer said anything back, Lyon took it as the cue to leave. "Well, I better get going now. I'll probably hear of your team's report by the time I return to Lamia Scale."

Sting looked like he wanted to say something else, but Lyon already turned around and walked away, waving a hand dismissively. Lyon knew he could actually afford to stay for a while to wait for Sabertooth's information, but then again, he also needed to travel back to Magnolia as soon as possible to speak with one particular pinkette.

"Wait."

Lyon stopped in his tracks and turned to Sting.

"I need your advice on something." The teen walked over to where he was and rubbed his head while avoiding eye contact. "I know we're not really close, but I'm new to this guild master thing. Well, I know you aren't a guild master yourself but I guess I could consider you also as my senior, so I thought that maybe—"

Lyon snorted. Perhaps in his younger years he would've been irritated by him, but he found Sting too amusing instead. "Spill it out."

"How should I say this—We, we managed to capture the one who defeated the demon."

Lyon's brow perked up in confusion. He was under the impression that his guildmates were the one who defeated the demon. Why would they _'capture'_ a comrade? "I don't think I understand."

The young guild master briefly narrated how he discovered somebody with the unconscious bodies of their comrades. They first thought that she was the attacker, but they later learned that she was the one who defeated the Portico Dusk demon.

"Well, if that's the case, shouldn't you be thankful for that person? I don't really see the need for capturing whoever that is."

"That's my dilemma right now. You see, we're not sure what to do with her. We found out that she's actually a fugitive, so I'm not sure if we should surrender her to the council. But we're also in her debt since she saved my comrades so—"

 _She_? _Fugitive?_

He knew of one person who fit the descriptions.

He raised a hand to stop Sting from speaking. "Bring me to her."

—

"Was the barrier really necessary, Rogue-sama?"

"Those were Sting's orders," the dragon slayer replied.

"Yeah, his orders are absolute," Lector said, who was in Yukino's arms, "We can't do anything about it."

Yukino frowned, looking down on the floor. "You know, I don't really think she is a bad person."

"Fro thinks so too," Frosch commented while hanging on Rogue's shoulder.

"We've confirmed her identity as Meredy, from the independent guild Crime Sorciere," another voice interjected. The two wizards turned to recognize their comrade with a garish headgear—Rufus. "Formerly from Grimoire Heart. Was involved in various criminalities at a young age. One of the council's most wanted."

"Even so, wasn't that all in the past?" Yukino asked, "She did help Orga-sama and the others."

"Well, yes," Rufus affirmed, placing a hand under his chin, "Actually, her current guild, Crime Sorciere, also aims to eradicate dark guilds. It seems that they are making amends for their past deeds."

The Shadow dragon slayer crossed his arms. "We can't really blame Sting for being cautious, though," he defended, "He cannot make any careless decisions since all his actions would reflect on our guild's name." His two teammates only nodded in silence, comprehending the weight of the situation. "How is she, though?"

"She didn't ask why we were still keeping her. She simply went back to the sofa and lied down without saying anything." The Celestial Spirit mage lowered her head and gazed down. "I think she already knows why, though."

"I see."

The sound of footsteps interrupted their exchange, and the three turned their heads to see their guild master, along with a silver-haired individual clad in cobalt blue. Rogue noted the troubled look on the blond's face.

"Sting!" Lector exclaimed excitedly, jumping down from Yukino's arms to approach him.

Rufus tapped his chin. "And if memory serves me correct, Lyon Vastia from Lamia Scale?"

Lyon lightly bobbed his head in greeting. "Where is she?" he asked straightaway, leaving out the formalities.

Initially, expressions of confusion were painted on the faces of the three mages and two exceeds, who then simultaneously turned to Sting. The young guild master simply gave a nod of approval. Without asking anything, they complied by leading the ice mage to a nearby door.

Inside the room, Meredy had already drifted into sleep, physical and emotional exhaustion taking a toll in her.

She started dreaming, pleasant memories with Ultear flashing back in her head. Everything else became more colourful when another individual arrived—Jellal. Together, they reached a number of places ranging from an underwater village to a sky ranch. Everything was going well, until she discerned that Ultear was walking far too ahead.

" _I'm not letting you get away again,"_ she muttered under her breath. She started chasing after her, but not before grabbing Jellal's hand. _"You too, Jellal."_

Together, they pursued after Ultear in a seemingly unending void. However, no matter how fast they ran, Ultear seemed too far away. The Time mage stopped running and faced them, which Meredy thought was a good thing, because it meant that they could finally reach her.

However, the next scenery tremendously surprised Meredy.

Ultear burst into tiny particles, sparkling into thin air.

She turned back to Jellal, only to see him disappearing too.

A sad smile was plastered all over his face. _"I can't, Meredy. Go ahead."_

And he too, vanished into the air.

Unable to accept the horror she had witnessed, Meredy covered her eyes and sunk onto the ground, hoping all of them would go away. Alone, she was in the middle of nowhere.

" _This isn't real. Just a nightmare, just a nightmare…"_ she started chanting, desperately trying to hold back her tears.

A voice started calling out her name. She brought her hands down to look for the source, but everything was blank, nothing. The voice called her out again.

There was no mistaking it.

The voice belonged to Lyon.

Yet when she looked around, not a soul was seen.

Baffled and confused, she persisted walking around the hollow area in search of the voice, going around it in circles. It was a futile attempt, since nothing was seen. Nobody showed up.

On the verge of giving up, she sat on the floor, huddling her knees together. She pleaded for the nightmare to be over, for someone to wake her up.

The voice called for her again, and this time, a hand touched her shoulder from behind, startling her.

"Meredy!"

And she was jolted awake. The first thing she saw was Lyon, whose face appeared quite startled.

Before anyone could speak, Meredy started reaching her hand towards him, and did something nobody in the room expected.

She pinched his cheeks.

Eyes widening, she gasped. "Are you real?"

Perplexed, Lyon only blinked for several times before bringing down the hand clamped around his cheeks. He snorted in amusement. "Of course I am."

She did another unexpected thing next.

She embraced him.

All the Sabertooth members present in the room had bewildered looks on their faces, though the surprise weren't as much as what Lyon was feeling at that moment, with heat rising over his usually cool face.

She still clung tightly onto him, not minding the aches of her wounds upon contact. "You don't know how happy I am to see you again," she managed to mutter.

The ice mage's eyes softened. Eyeing the wrappings around her body, his arms gently made its way towards her back. He noticed how she cringed when he touched her spine, so he proceeded to hug her with utmost care.

Yukino blushed at the sight before her, instinctively placing a hand to cover her mouth. Not one person in the room dared to speak, afraid of tainting the sanctity of their reunion.

The silence was eventually broken by an innocent question of one exceed. "Are they lovers?"

"Shut it, Frosch!" Lector snapped back, striking a paw on the other cat's face.

It was only then when Meredy realized that they weren't alone in the room. Eyes fluttering over at the Sabertooth wizards surrounding them, she broke contact with Lyon and scratched her nape. She displayed a sheepish grin with a flushed face. "I'm sorry. After everything that happened, I'm just so relieved to see a familiar face."

"How are you feeling?" Lyon asked, ignoring the awkward stares of the younger mages behind him.

She fiddled with the bandages wrapping around her hand. "Though I may not look like it, I'm fine, really. It's just my back though; it's awfully painful."

Sting quickly walked towards them and stood beside Lyon. He abruptly arched his trunk forward before Meredy. "It's my entire fault, ma'am! Please forgive me!"

The stares were then transferred to the young guild master.

Lyon gave him an uptight gaze. "What do you mean?"

Sting was hesitant to continue. "I…I was the one who attacked her from behind. I didn't know—" His words were interrupted when Lyon aggravatingly stood up and seized his collar.

"You did what?! She's on our side!"

Rogue and Rufus immediately held onto Lyon's shoulders, urging him to calm down. Lector was also trying to pry off his hands while Yukino and Frosch watched horrified at the side lines.

"I didn't know that before! But if it makes you feel better," Sting retorted, not resisting, "then hit me!"

Meredy noticed the clenching of Lyon's fists, which was starting to glimmer with ice particles. Before he managed to perform what he appeared to intend to do, she promptly tugged the edge of his shirt, gaining her his attention. "Lyon, stop. I already forgave him."

He gave her a stare which looked questioning before releasing his grasp on Sting.

She also let go of her hand on his fabric. "As painful as the attack was, I'm sure he did it out of concern for his comrades."

Sting's eyes gleamed with surprise with her statement before he quickly bowed down before her again. "Thank you, ma'am…You are truly kind."

When no one spoke any further, Rogue felt that they needed to discuss much important matters. "Now that everything's settled," he then turned to the pinkette, "Meredy-san, would you mind narrating to us the events after discovering Orga's team?"

And she did in a detailed manner, sharing how her spell, Maguilty Amorra, managed to land a direct hit on the demon that regenerated its wounds with every other spell. She briefly described the nature of Amorra and how it possibly defeated the demon, but she chose not to tell them about the side effects of the spell.

"That explains how the demon managed to defeat even someone as powerful as Orga," Rufus stated, "It has the ability to sap magical power."

"And only spells like Maguilty Amorra which could directly hit the Eternano container could possibly put an end to them," Sting commented in a contemplating manner.

"This is a significant discovery, don't you all think?" Lector said, a paw under his chin, "Shouldn't this be disseminated immediately to the council?"

"Fro thinks so too!"

"But wait, we just can't tell that to the council!" Yukino retorted with a troubled look, "I mean, wouldn't that give away that Meredy-san is with us?" Yukino paused and quickly pondered over her choice of words. "W-wait, I mean—"

"It's okay, Yukino. I understand what you're trying to say," Meredy gave her a smile, "I am, of course, a fugitive on the loose."

"And we can't just give away her location," Lyon finished for her.

Lector wagged one of his paws. "Well, how about this: What if we told the council about the significance of her powers against Portico Dusk? If the council knew that they could use her magic against them, isn't there a possibility that the council could just pardon her afterwards, once Portico Dusk is defeated?"

Rogue crossed his arms. "That's the problem; it's just a possibility."

Lyon nodded broodingly. "Over the years the council's system has already been warped and complicated. We don't have any assurance that she could be pardoned of her previous crimes, no matter how significant her contribution is against Portico Dusk."

"How about we just tell them that we found out that the magic containers needed to be directly hit when dealing with the demons?" Rufus interjected, "We don't have to tell them that Meredy was the one who performed the magic."

"The council would notice that we left out some details," Rogue stated, "They may get suspicious and ask more."

"Then why won't we just tell them what happened in Orga's team's perspective?" Sting stated, rubbing his chin, "We could report to the council that the demon managed to defeat our comrades, but when they woke up, the demon was already gone."

Yukino nodded slowly. "So we're going to leave out the information that Meredy-san managed to defeat them?"

"Like there's some mysterious heroic person who isn't affiliated with the guilds who managed overthrow it instead?" Rufus reiterated.

"Yes. The council doesn't know, but we do." Sting fisted his hands in determination. "For now, we'd just have to tell the other guilds about this information without the council finding out. At least now we have a representative from Lamia Scale; only four guilds left to tell."

The corners of Lyon's lips curved upwards. "Sounds like a plan."

Meredy remained silent throughout their exchange. A part of her wanted to push them away, remembering her resolution about cutting ties with other people.

But now they were all looking at her, waiting for her say on the matter. Their eyes gleamed sincerity, which inaudibly spoke levels on their concern about her.

Meredy closed her eyes and heaved a breath. "Fine by me. Thank you, everyone."

She knew she was going against her own promises to herself, but at that moment, she had new realizations which gave her another perspective in her life. Because of them, she was again filled with hope in life, seeing how much they genuinely cared for her despite having just met most of them.

After obtaining Meredy's approval, their discussion ended. Afterwards, the Sabertooth members plus Lyon left the room for Meredy to rest.

Once outside, Sting turned to Lyon, telling him that he could stay over at their headquarters for the night, since it was getting late anyway. "Um, think of it also as a way of me making up for my mistakes," Sting said, not looking at him directly.

Initially, Lyon thought of turning down the invitation. _"He's kinda annoying, like that flame brain friend of Gray,"_ he scruffily thought, but he remembered that Meredy was also staying at the place. In the end, he accepted, and was escorted to one of the guest rooms by Yukino.

As soon as the Stellar Spirit wizard left, he tossed his knapsack onto the bed and sat on it, contemplating on the recent events. He then recalled his meeting with Ultear, and knowing that Meredy was alone at the moment, he figured it was the right time to speak with her regarding the matter. He left the room and walked through the halls, until he was in front of the previous room they were in.

He turned the door knob and pushed the door slightly, only to find out that apparently, another person wanted to speak with pinkette alone too.

"I told you, I'm fine," he heard a female voice say. Definitely, he knew it belonged to Meredy.

"Then, do you need anything else?" another voiced asked, whom Lyon recognized as the voice of Sting.

"This tray of food is more than enough. Besides, I already said that I've forgiven you, right?"

"Alright, then. Just call me if you require anything." For some reason, the more Lyon heard Sting's voice, the more annoying he thought he was. He didn't know why.

The sound of something slipping was then heard, followed by a loud clattering of metal and plastic on the ground. It alarmed Lyon, so he completely opened the door, only to find a surprised Meredy along with a Sabertooth guild master covered entirely with food. A discarded tray and plate with food all over the place also lay in front of him.

"F-Fro is sorry! It's Fro's fault!" a tear-filled Exceed shakily mumbled, who was apparently also beside the dragon slayer.

Another Exceed, who appeared very irritated, struck the frog-like cat on its head. "Stupid Frosch! Look what you did to Sting!"

Before Lyon could process what exactly happened, Meredy erupted into gales of laughter. Soon, Sting joined her, and the two Exceeds, who already stopped fighting upon seeing the messy sight of the blond, also laughed along.

Lyon found himself smiling too, looking over at the pinkette's joyous appearance. It reminded him of the time they rode the train back to Lamia Scale, when he first made her laugh.

However, there was a feeling of negativity seeping in him when he glanced at the apparently contented grin on Sting's face.

At that moment, he began to question why he was feeling that way. Shouldn't he be happy that someone was making Meredy feel that way?

Juvia's words echoed in his head. _"You returned that radiance that made her smile beautiful."_

A breeze of realization then hit him.

It was one thing that she was smiling.

But then, there was another factor that needed to be considered.

He wanted to be that reason behind her smile.

Somewhere else, beside Fiore, a gigantic dark gate stood, looming in a secluded place where no inhabitants resided. Surrounding it were five distinct orbs that were majestic in size, but only one of them blazed in a deep crimson colour, which was seemingly radiating a strong magical presence. The remaining ones were lacklustre, seemingly empty of any magical existence.

A man with pastel skin, donning an elaborate crown atop his long dark locks, entered the abandoned zone. He was a man of great stature, with an emblem with five circular designs on his exposed neck. His cape fluttering slowly behind him, he walked towards one of the orbs, and stopped in front of an unconscious blue-haired man with a distinctive tattoo on the right side of his face. He was bound by a seal of magical bands encoded with intricate incantations.

Three portals of purplish hue appeared in the area, and from them emerged three figures with gourds behind them. The first two figures had two demonic beings following after them, which were eight-feet tall. As soon as they were out, the portals disappeared.

"We have returned, Abyss-sama," one of the three figures said, guiding their respective demons towards their crowned master.

"Welcome home, guardians," the man named Abyss said, turning to his subordinates, "I assume you have done your duties well?"

"Yes, master," two of them said simultaneously, bowing before him.

"Good. Let us begin the transferring process, then." With a snap of his finger, various Eternano particles burst out from the demons, which then flew towards one of the dull-coloured orbs. As the magic particles moved out of them, the orb started glowing into a rosy hue; at the same time, the built of each demon diminished. When they were sapped out of Eternano, the respective demons returned to the gourds of their guardian.

Abyss looked at the second orb which was already glowing, seemingly alive. It was gleaming as much as the first one.

"It seems that the Eternano that all of you gathered was just enough to fill one of the keys," their master commented with a neutral tone.

"We apologize, Abyss-sama!" one of the guardians howled diffidently, "We shall obtain more once we get back to Fiore!"

"It's fine. I understand that obtaining Eternano is indeed a challenging task. We were simply lucky that we were able to stumble upon him," Abyss said, turning to the unmoving body of the man, "Jellal Fernandes, I believe that is his name." The Portico Dusk master chuckled darkly, before turning back to his aides. "What's the status of the other guardians and their Behemuths?"

"Some of the guardians were captured in a city called Magnolia. They are currently in the hands of the Fiore authorities, yet none of them are saying anything. We were programmed that way, after all. As for the others, they are still collecting magical particles, as we speak."

"Captured? Pathetic." Abyss vehemently shook his head. "You," the master turned to the guardian who appeared without a Behemuth, "Where is your demon?"

The said guardian then spoke. "I-I regret to report, Abyss-sama, that my Behemuth was overpowered by one of the Fiore inhabitants."

A look of disbelief washed over Abyss. "Overpowered? Unfortunate. But tell me more."

"We were designated in forest near the city called Rose, and we stumbled upon a group of wizards with immense magical power. W-we managed to defeat them and collect the necessary Eternano. However, a meddlesome woman interfered and…managed to kill him."

The master's voice started to rise in a higher tone. "And you let that happen? Why did you not interfere as well?"

"I-I was confident that the Behemuth would defeat her. I hid in the side lines, waiting for her to be sapped of her power as well."

"I see." Abyss tucked his arms behind his back. He approached the guardian, who was already shaking, afraid of the consequences of his actions. Abyss held his shoulder. "It is admirable that you have great faith in your Behemuth. After all, they were designed to be quite resilient against mere magic spells. Now tell me, who is this woman? Tell me what she looks like."

Before he could respond, Abyss grasped the guardian's head, and subsequently, an image of a pink-haired girl mentally formed in his head.

"Hmm… Somehow, she looks familiar," the master commented, "But that's no important matter."

The master telepathically sent her image on each of the guardian's minds.

"Now, all of you have another job," Abyss said sinisterly, gazing at the other guardians, "Find this woman and bring her to me."

"Yessir," the guardians spoke, and they started summoning their portals.

The guardian near Abyss also turned around and began to walk away, but was stopped by his master.

"Wait, not you."

Stunned, the guardian slowly faced his master again.

Abyss gave him a baleful smile. "Your job is finished."

And with a brisk wave of his hand, the guardian plummeted towards the ground, lifeless.

"I have no need for pathetic minions like you," Abyss whispered, before vanishing into darkness.

 


	18. Lyon vs. Meredy

 

"Where's your next destination, though?" the young guild master of Sabertooth asked, facing the two packed up with the intention of leaving their guild house.

"I'll be travelling back to Magnolia, since I promised Juvia I'll go back to Fairy Tail." Meredy glanced at Lyon, who was looking back at her. "As for him, he should be going back—"

"—with her to Magnolia as well," the ice mage quickly interjected, noting the subsequent scrunching of her eyebrows. "It would be safer to travel _together_ ," he stressed, shifting his eyes back to the Sabertooth wizards, "don't you think?"

Sting placed a hand on his chin contemplatively. "Yeah, I agree, especially considering the significance of your power in this battle. You'll need some back up, Meredy-san." Sting gazed at her and noticed the frown on the girl's face. "I-I meant no offense to that, of course, I'm sure you can defend yourself."

Rogue discerned her outwardly ticked expression as well. "What Sting meant is that you'll need all the support you can get; in other words, better be safe than sorry. Besides," he glanced at the bandages around her arms, "you haven't even fully recovered yet."

Meredy sighed in defeat, forcing the frown on her face into a smile. "Alright, then."

"Should I arrange a carriage for the two of you, then?" the blond offered, "It would take several hours for you to reach the nearest train station by foot… It would be more convenient for Meredy-san too."

Both Lyon and Meredy didn't respond right away, as if both were having second thoughts about it. The ice mage was the first to notice. "Well, if that's what she wants—"

"No, thank you," Meredy cut him off, "I'm fine, didn't I tell you guys? I'm already used to travelling by foot. Besides, we could also scout through the forest for some Portico Dusk activity." When the boys made no further comment, Meredy slid on her hood. "We better get moving, then. Again, thank you for your hospitality," she said, giving the dragon slayers a quick grin before sauntering off.

"Yeah, you better get going now," Sting assented to the older man as he watched the girl's retreating figure. "Why does she seem to be in a hurry, though?"

Lyon didn't respond and simply shrugged.

"Anyway, if you could gain more information that you feel would need some deliberation, please don't hesitate to send a message through a pigeon," Rogue added.

"We will." Lyon waved a hand in regard, adjusting his knapsack. "Thanks for keeping us for the night," he retorted before following after the Maguilty mage, who had already taken a turn through one of the streets.

"Say, Rogue…" Sting mumbled as they watched Lyon from the distance, "Do you think Meredy-san is his rumoured girlfriend?"

Rogue gave him a look which clearly asked, " _Are you kidding me, Sting?_ "

"What?" the blond said defensively, "You were the one who told me that it's my job as a new guild master to be more updated with the happenings around Fiore."

Rogue simply shook his head in disbelief and entered the guild house again, leaving his friend by the doorway confused.

—

"Oi, wait for me," Lyon bellowed from the street, briskly striding behind the hooded pinkette. She obeyed wordlessly and progressively decelerated her pace until they were in a conversational distance.

"It's better if I walk ahead, right?" she muttered without looking at him, "There are councilmen walking about."

It took him a few seconds before complying, walking slower until she again was a distance ahead of him. After ensuring he was far enough from her, Meredy faced forward once more and sighed.

The councilmen weren't really much of her concern that time. Since it was still early in the morning, some of the guards were actually starting to doze off from their duties, which was very irresponsible in a citizen's point-of-view. For someone like her, however, it was very advantageous.

She slightly turned her head to look back to Lyon from the corner of her eye, and he appeared to notice the negligence of the guards too, judging from his grimace.

She flicked her head back to midline.

The reason why she really asked Lyon to walk behind her was that she really needed some time alone, to think things through.

Everything was not going as planned for Meredy. She wasn't very truthful when she told them that she would return to Fairy Tail afterwards. She actually intended to set off on her own and search for the roots of Portico Dusk by herself. The previous night she couldn't sleep, because the conversation with Sabertooth made her think otherwise. However, she came into the conclusion that everything would be far too complicated if she would continue to be with them, especially considering what Doranbolt had told her.

But with Lyon beside her, watching her every move, she was fearful that she may not be able to pursue her chosen path. Plus, it would be hard for her to think of another excuse to leave Fairy Tail once she reached the guild. Meredy's frown returned, and she was thankful Lyon was behind her so he could not see.

Plus her injuries _still_ actually hurt, and it was hard to keep her strong act with him lingering around.

Unbeknownst to her, Lyon was not being honest to the two dragon slayers as well. He also had an entirely different plan in mind.

_"I don't have much time left."_

_Her words carried much weight, yet her voice was calm and the smile never left her face._

_Lyon gave her a concerned glance. "Then I should immediately inform Meredy—"_

_Ultear shook her head._ _"Only tell her when she's ready."_

He felt that the sooner they met the time mage at Waterlily village, the better, although he was not actually certain how to gauge whether Meredy was ready or not (or what she even meant about Meredy being ready in the first place). He gazed at the cloaked figure in front of him and noticed that he was actually catching up with her.

" _Was I walking faster without me knowing it…?_ " he thought. He glanced at her figure again and sighed, slowing his pace once more.

They exited the city gates and entered an area shrouded with tall trees. They turned towards the path not many carriages passed through; it was a longer travel, yet they knew it was better if they remained unseen by other people. As soon as he knew they were alone, Lyon caught up with her strides and walked beside her.

"Are you sure you'd really be fine travelling by foot?" he asked, eyeing the bandages peeking through her shirt.

"You were lying to them, of course," she spoke with eyes flit to the sides, "about going back with me to Magnolia."

He tried not to be bothered by the fact that she actually ignored his question, and simply raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't follow."

"As soon as we reach the nearest train station, you'll go to the other route and go back to Lamia Scale."

"And what gave you that idea?"

She stopped in her tracks and faced him. "Don't you trust in me? I could go back on my own!"

Getting ticked with her sudden coldness, he did not notice how she clutched her side after raising her voice. "Didn't you hear what Sting and Rogue said? It's never about us underestimating you. Why are you such in a sour mood, anyway?" he countered with an unintentional higher tone, which garnered him an unkinder glare from the girl. Seeing her reaction, he heaved a sigh. "I thought you said that you were happy to see me," he muttered gently this time.

With briefly widening eyes, Meredy was rendered speechless. Placing a hand across the other arm, she avoided his gaze, turning to the ground. "I am, but…" Her shoulders jerked, and a flushed expression surfaced on her face. "S-stop changing the topic! You don't really have to accompany me, you know," she continued with insistence.

"But I want to," was what he wanted to respond, but he stopped himself, thinking it was an inappropriate time. He thought of something else. "There's something I need to discuss Gray too, urgently. So why don't we go to Magnolia together?"

She seemed to find no room for arguments this time, turning around with her arms crossed and uttering, "Fine."

As they walked in silence, Lyon figured it was the perfect opportunity to open up the topic regarding a certain time mage. "Meredy, there's something I need to tell you—"

A quick rustle on the bushes startled them, interrupting Lyon's words. Immediately they stood in a defensive stance, anticipating an attack from the shrubbery. Lyon wordlessly instructed Meredy to summon her blades, to which she understood immediately, making her sensory blades hover around them in preparation.

When the bush made no further movement, Lyon slapped his hands together, creating an ice mechanism which effectively separated the bushes, revealing...

…a squirrel. Holding an acorn.

And it quickly ran away upon seeing the dangerous blades floating above him.

Lyon blinked several times and slumped back. "Well, looks like we got worked up for nothi—"

Meredy then burst out laughing heartily, which surprised Lyon. Okay, he stood corrected. It definitely wasn't for nothing, he thought, as his features softened, laughing along with her as he looked at her gleeful sight before him.

The laughter died down when Meredy began muttering "ow, ow" in between her giggles, subsequently clutching her sides. This time it was not unnoticed by the ice mage so he instantly reached out his arms in support, only to have Meredy pushing him away, though not as harsh as her mood before.

"I'm fine… Just a bit tired from walking, is all."

Lyon eyed her lower torso which she was still clasping. "Let's rest for now, then."

They located a spacious area without much shrubbery and decided to settle there. Meredy rested her back against a tree and slowly slumped down. "What was it that you wanted to tell me earlier?"

Hearing this, Lyon stopped rummaging his bag for snacks, taking note that she was in a much better mood than before.

_"Only tell her when she's ready."_

_"What exactly do you mean by that, Ultear…?"_ he asked in his thoughts. He was only brought back to reality when he saw that Meredy was looking at him, confused with his silence. "Well, uh… What's on your mind right now?"

"'What's on my mind?'" She lightly tapped a finger to her chin. "Well… It's already morning and we haven't eaten, so 'food,' I guess?"

"Oh, right." He searched his bag again and tossed her a pack of bread. He chuckled. "Happy eating."

She muffled a 'thanks' before munching on her food. Lyon watched her silently as he leaned his back against another tree, which Meredy noticed so she became self-conscious. "W-what?"

Lyon seemed a bit startled from being caught, but shook his head silently. The way he smiled kindly at her didn't make things any comfortable; at least, that was what her rapidly-beating heart was saying. Meredy opted to look the opposite direction while nibbling on her breakfast.

"Hey," he spoke finally, making her glance back, "How about you tell me a story while we're eating?"

"You're not even eating," she wanted to point out, seeing that he hadn't even taken the bread off the wrapper. "What kind of story?" she opted to ask instead.

"Anything about you." His tone was slow and careful. "Your adventures in your guild, with Jellal and…Ultear, stuff like that."

Her shoulders flinched upon hearing that certain name and Lyon was quite sure he triggered something within her, similar to when he mentioned her mother-figure's name after he saved Meredy before. But whatever feelings those were, the pinkette was able to hide quickly, as shut her eyes with a crooked smile. "No… Let's not talk about that."

 _"I knew it,"_ Lyon thought, almost gripping the air out of the bread bag he was holding. Is this what Ultear meant with not being ready? "How about something else, then…" He thought of asking her about her childhood, but he already knew that.

It was then when he had the realization that for most of her life, the time mage had been with her, and since Meredy was obviously evading her involvement in stories, she was left with no other stories to tell.

And Meredy must've apprehended this too, as she stood up from the ground, placing the her empty bread wrapper inside her bag. "I think I'm ready to go now."

The rest of their journey had been silent. For every half an hour they walked, they took breaks, more for Meredy's sake, and soon they reached a small village where they feasted on a meal. Meredy was quiet, too awfully quiet than usual, so Lyon attempted to start a conversation by sharing Toby and Yuka's antics to lighten up the mood. It earned him a giggle or two from her, but nothing more, much to his dismay. Afterwards, they set off for the forests once more.

 _"This is a lot harder than I thought,"_ Lyon spoke in his mind, resting his head against the tree trunk behind him. They were taking more frequent breaks than in the morning, a sign indicating how fatigue was taking a toll on her. He had to admit, he was starting to get tired from walking as well, and even wondered where they would've been had they accepted Sting's carriage offer.

The girl stood up from her spot, earning her a curious look from Lyon. "Um, I need to pee," she said, feigning a smile.

He eyed her suspiciously. "You seriously need to bring your bag?"

"Y-yes." She crossed her arms defensively. "A woman has her needs. Is there a problem?"

He gave her an incredulous look before speaking, "Fine. Be quick about it."

"Thanks!" As she turned around, the Maguilty mage touched the rough surface of the tree trunk which glowed pink subsequently. As she left, her mouth curled into a wretched smile hidden in the shadows.

"What exactly is wrong, Meredy?" the ice mage muffled to himself as soon as the pinkette left. He shut in eyes in deep contemplation.

 _"Meredy… She is a sweet girl who displays a strong front especially towards her loved ones,"_ he recalled Ultear saying this to him, _"but deep inside she's a vulnerable girl whose strong emotions get ahead of her, at times, clouding her better judgment…"_

Lyon bit his lip. "What does it all mean, then?"

Recollections of his meeting with Ultear appeared on his mind again.

_"You are aware that she is a user of Maguilty Sense magic, right? It is a magic that relies greatly on putting much faith and emotions into its blades, so a greater output of intense power is produced."_

_Ultear paused as she flicked her head towards the window which gave an overview of the ocean._

_"At a young age, Meredy was already informed of the significance of these emotions in terms of her magical development, so she was trained to feel various intense emotions to widen her magical capacity. However, taking control of great feelings is not as easy as it sounds. Think about it, how could you think clearly if you have immense anger eating you up from the inside? To prevent herself from her own demise, from time to time, she needed to release those emotions."_

_A sigh._

_"One way of doing that is by welling up all of those emotions, transferring them to the blades she summons, and…directing them towards a target, a live one, much preferred, giving them a series of pain beyond imagination."_

He remembered the almost apologetic smile Ultear gave him, seeing his winced expression.

_"That was how she was taught in Grimoire Heart, anyway. There are more conventional ways of releasing the emotions of course, such as simply speaking with her and making her aware of her predicament. This could be a challenging task, of course, especially if Meredy still thinks that she is in control of her emotions."_

Lyon opened his eyes in realization. _"Is this the situation right now?"_ He stood up and walked briskly towards the path she took. "And do girls really take that long to pee..?"

It was starting to get dark, so it became harder for him to see her. Of course, it was still pretty easy to see a lone pink head amidst the green trees, yet he saw no sign of her.

His suspicions were confirmed when he turned around and saw the glowing pink inscriptions of the tree: ' _I'm sorry, Lyon.'_

He slammed his fist hard onto the trunk, grazing his knuckles. "Shit. Shit!"

He began running off, calling her name.

"Meredy!"

She could not have gone far, especially considering her condition.

"MEREDY!"

And true enough, the girl wasn't very far yet, as she heard his screams. She tried to run even faster, even though her feet were already turning wobbly. She turned her head and could already see Lyon trailing after her. If she didn't do anything, the chase would soon be over.

"Meredy, stop!" she heard him say as she evaded a tree branch.

She beckoned her Maguilty blades and plunged them over to Lyon's direction, which he immediately countered with ice eagles.

"No! Leave me alone, Lyon!" she shouted back, starting to cast another series of magical attack.

"Let's just talk, okay?!"

"No! Nothing can change my mind!"

She casted another series of blades, yet the aim was worse than the first ones, hitting the two trees beside Lyon instead. What surprised Lyon was how powerful the attack was, since it managed to bring both structures down. " _Or was she missing me on purpose…?"_

"I know what you're trying to do; stop giving me false hopes! You and Gray are the same!"

Lyon scrunched his brows. " _What is she…?_ " Meters ahead of Meredy, he saw a massive structure of trees seemingly forming a wall, blocking her path forward. Making use of the opportunity, he summoned three ice tigers which trailed after her. Meredy tried to cast offensive spells against the ice felines, but Lyon was able to make them dodge just in time.

Just as he anticipated, Meredy was too distracted to take a turn and stopped abruptly in front of the trees. The three ice tigers reached her eventually and circled around the pinkette, trapping her. This time, she did not resist his advances against her.

"Finally, caught, you," Lyon panted, making his way towards her. Yet Meredy surprised him again when she unexpectedly generated powerful rays from her body, which gashed Lyon's shoulder and deteriorated the ice tigers at the same time.

She started to run again, but Lyon caught her arm before she could escape.

"Let go of me, Lyon!" she growled angrily.

He didn't budge and gripped her hand even tighter. "I won't, not until you listen!"

Meredy's body began glowing again. "Stop treating me like a child!"

Clicking his tongue, he decided to use another approach, his last resort if things wouldn't go well. "I see, you're so angry right now, right?" He released her and stretched his arms to his sides. "Go ahead. Attack me with those rays again!"

Taunted, Meredy brashly lunged at him and brought him to the ground, pinning him to the ground with her lower limbs. Lyon made no attempts for resistance while she stared at him with eyes clouded with various negative emotions.

 _"Exterminate... Exterminate..."_ A little voice in her head muttered. For a moment, the glow in her eyes flickered. It sounded like...her younger self?

"Come on, then!" Lyon challenged her even further, "Is this what you'd what Ultear to see? Do you think she'd want to see you this way?"

The mention of Ultear triggered negativity once more, making her cast Sensory Link on him. However, unlike her previous links with him, she embedded an offensive spell on it, making him wince in pain.

"Stop speaking as though you know Ultear!" she shouted, forcefully grabbing his collar. The voice echoed once more. " _Exterminate..."_

He grabbed the hand that was suffocating him, yet he remained unfazed. That look in her eyes—he already saw it once, before. It was that time when Gray also mentioned Ultear. "And what if I do?"

A questioning look enveloped her face first before shifting again into anger. "Stop saying nonsense! You haven't even met her!"

"And what if I did?!" he firmly proclaimed, successfully freeing his collar the moment she loosened her grip. "I saw her, spoke to her, _in her own flesh!"_

With his revelation, the aura died down in an instant, and Meredy slid off him, onto the ground beside them. "Y-you...did?"

As Lyon also sat up, he made an effort to stare at the seal on his wrist. He felt it; all the emotions that had been clouding her heart ever since.

Anger.

Confusion.

Doubt.

Fear.

He gave her a look of sympathy. _"Is this what you were going through, all this time?"_

She dug her face onto the palms of her hands. "W-what am I doing...?"

Eyebrows furrowed, Lyon breathed out in relief. "For a minute there, I thought I already lost you."

Hearing his voice, Meredy turned to him and was stunned to see the slit on his shoulder. She gasped and motioned her arms to check the wound. "W-was I the one who did that?"

He brushed her hands away and shook his head. "Don't worry about this. I'm fine."

Her voice was starting to waver. "B-but I..."

A gentle squeeze on her shoulder told her not to dwell on the issue no longer.

"I'm sorry for acting like a child…" She fought her tears back. "T-then... Ultear? Is she really...?"

'Yes' was the only answer that she wanted to hear, so it was the answer that he gave her.

"B-but…what would happen afterwards? I-I don't think that I'll be strong enough..."

The ice mage rose up to his feet. "No one really knows what would happen in the future, but for now, all you need to do is to start believing in yourself...because there are also people who believe in you." He reached out his hand towards her. "Let's go. Ultear is waiting."

She stared at his hand before wiping the tears welling in eyes. She nodded, and then allowed him to pull her up. She started to dust off the dirt on her dress, but felt a pang on her side, causing her to cower back. She placed a hand over it and saw that there was blood.

Lyon also noticed, knowing that she must've reopened some wounds due to her running. "Stupid girl. I was trying not to hurt you, and then you end up hurting yourself."

Meredy rolled her eyes. "And you were too persistent... I was...trying not to hurt you too, you know." She hoped the darkness of the night would conceal the redness of her face.

Lyon simply smirked and nudged her towards the opposite direction. "Come on. I have some bandages in my bag. Let's go back to our resting area first."

She bobbed her head in agreement and allowed him to guide her back towards the area they previously rested. Both of them had not realized that Meredy had yet to release the Sensory Link between them, but as they walked on, the only feeling that prevailed was hope.

"Lyon?"

"Hm?"

She wanted to point out that he was still holding her hand as they walked, but as she looked at the sincere, nonchalant look on his face, she realized that she didn't really mind.

"Nothing. Thank you."

Perhaps hope wasn't the only emotion reigning at that moment, but whatever feeling that was, they have yet to realize it too.


	19. Motherly Waves

The train compartment had been silent throughout trip, the resonate sounds of the engines and the wheels passing over the rail tracks being the only music for most of the trip.

Juvia worriedly glanced at her friend sitting across from her, whose eyes remained fixated on the window. The water mage discerned the heavy bags under her eyes, yet she was aware that no matter how much she would ask her to rest, even for a while, she would not.

The girl must have noticed her staring as she snapped from her trance, moving her eyes towards her instead.

"You don't need to worry about me, Juvia," the pinkette said with a tired smile, "Please rest. It would still take hours before we reach our destination."

Juvia had to admit, she was not actually full of energy, either. The previous day, Gray received a letter from Lyon that he would be back with Meredy by midnight, so they both waited. As soon as they arrived and told them about the news regarding Ultear, she did not hesitate in offering her presence to accompany them in their trip.

"Meredy, you should rest too, you know."

The girl leaned her head slightly on the cushioned headrest behind her. "I tried, really, but..." A sigh. "I'm a bit nervous to see her again, to be honest. And also quite excited, at the same time. It's hard to explain the feeling."

The water mage gave her an understanding smile. "Juvia sees. However, you should still try to sleep. Juvia doesn't know Ultear-san personally, but Juvia is pretty sure that she would prefer to see a fresh-looking, well-rested Meredy."

The Maguilty mage giggled. "I'll try. Thank you, Juvia."

Outside the train compartment stood their two male companions. Gray turned to Lyon, who was at the opposite side of the train's narrow corridor.

"Are you sure we should be making this trip now?" Gray asked, taking another glimpse at the pink-haired girl inside the train cabin through the small glass window of the door. He eyed the bandages around her extremities, "She looks like she hasn't had a proper rest the past days."

Lyon's brows wrinkled, his expression changing into a somber one. "I know."

He clenched his hands into a fist, looking away.

"But I'm afraid we don't have much of a choice in the matter."

Lyon knew, because it was a race with time. Gray only nodded in silence, bringing his hands inside his pockets.

Neither of them spoke for the rest of the trip.

They wasted no time as soon as they reached the last train station, immediately accepting the services of the first carriage going to Waterlily village. It had been a trip equally veiled in silence, with the Fairy Tail mages inadvertently dozing off.

Meredy propped an arm on the open window of the carriage, letting the calm morning winds of the land brush her face. Her eyelids definitely felt heavier by the second, yet the uneasy feeling seeping within her prevented her from having a relaxing slumber.

"It isn't a crime to sleep, you know," she heard Lyon mumble across from her. She gave him a sheepish grin.

"I could say the same thing to you, you know," she retorted back in an equally good-natured way.

The ice mage simply shrugged. "Guess I can't sleep either."

She sighed. "I guess I don't really know what to say to her. I have lots of things I want to tell her, things I want to ask her. I'm just a bit overwhelmed at the moment…"

His eyes trailed over the landscape from outside. "No matter what would be in store for us there," he said before turning back to her, "I'm sure you'll find your answers."

The rest of the trip had been silent once more, and about an hour later, they reached their last stop.

Not a lot of people ventured to the village. Having a population of less than a hundred, it was one of the less known villages in Fiore. Aside from its tranquil simplicity, it was probably best known for its fertile lands overlooking the Fiorean waters.

After paying for the carriage services, Lyon guided their way through the village. Curious stares came from its residents, eyeing the newcomers.

Unused to being stared at, Meredy brought her head down as they walked. "I should've brought my cloak with me."

Juvia squeezed her shoulder lightly. "Don't be silly, Meredy. Don't you think you'll be more suspicious in their eyes, that way?"

Meredy chuckled. "Guess you're right, I hope they stop staring though, it's making me more tense."

"It's okay, it's pretty normal. Visitors are unusual here especially since the climate is turning cold," Lyon said, turning to one of the narrow streets, "and the recent heightened surveillance from the council did not exactly warrant tourists, either."

"Besides, you'll be fine," Gray added, patting her head, "We're right here with you."

She nodded at them appreciatively, feeling slightly better.

Lyon eventually led them to a part of the village which was more elevated than the rest of the area. Soon they reached a cliff where no more than five small cabins were situated. They walked to the one located nearest the precipice, which had the best view of the ocean below.

Lyon knocked on the cabin door, yet there was no answer. He knocked again.

When they still heard neither an answer nor any sound, Meredy looked at Lyon doubtfully. "Are you sure this is the place, Lyon?"

"Yes, I'm sure." He gave a reassuring smile, though his eyebrows were noticeably creased. "I have been here before..."

Gray spoke what Meredy was fearful of saying, afraid of its implications. "Then why isn't anyone answering...?"

Before Lyon could knock once more, another voice joined their conversation from behind. It was one of the villagers. "Oi, you youngsters! Lodgings for the beach are available down here, not on that place."

"No, sir, we believe we're on the right place," Lyon retorted, as the villager approached them, "We are here to visit an old lady."

The man gave them a bewildered look, then squinting his wrinkled eyes as if inspecting them. "The old lady that stayed here? She's a bit new in town, actually. Not a lot visit her... You are one of the firsts, I believe. Relatives, perhaps?"

"Yes, we are," Meredy immediately answered, "Is she here right now?"

"I see." The man had a desolated look on his face, removing the straw hat resting on his head as he spoke the next words with hesitation. "I'm afraid to say that she died...two days ago."

She felt as if being horribly splashed with an unwanted bucket of ice cold water. The last words struck her like lightning, crumbling the remaining hopes in her heart.

 _No_.

She heard Gray asking the villager about details, yet everything was a blur. All she knew was that her legs were trembling, as if they would collapse at any minute.

 _No_.

Her knees felt weak. The man said something in response, yet nothing registered once more.

_No._

She wanted to run away; maybe it was just another nightmare. Yet she couldn't move, her feet glued on the ground as if she was under another body restriction spell.

All the stories she wanted to tell her.

All her questions.

Everything was down the drain now that she was gone.

"...she did leave something behind though," she heard the villager's voice clearly at last, "She said to give it to whomever will be looking for her."

The villager handed over an envelope, with a piece of paper and a key inside.

"I believe that is the key to her house," the old man gave a weak smile, before he bid his farewell.

Her eyes remained fixated on the items in her hands, which she realized were shaking. Unhurriedly she unfolded the piece of paper, having a strange and bitter sense of d _éjà vu_ because once again, all Ultear had left her was a letter. Unlike her first letter however, it was notably short.

' _Inside my house is my orb, which you should search for."_

It was the first line of the letter.

Meredy had known Ultear for most of her life, and without a doubt, she was sure it was her handwriting. She felt her hands shaking once more.

A firm touch on her shoulder snapped her from her daze, and she looked at Lyon who gave her a nod.

"Let's go in," he said, as he guided her towards the knob of the door.

At that moment, her mind felt incredibly blank, she did not know what she was feeling, yet she found herself inserting the key. With a click, she pushed the door open.

No one was inside, as she had expected from the villager's words. The cabin was not large; it was simply furnished with a small wooden table and chair in the middle, with a mahogany cupboard by the edge. As they stepped inside, Meredy ran her hands on the furniture, moving herself towards the bedside.

_"Ultear, she lived in this place by herself."_

She felt her eyes water knowing that Ultear probably spent her last moments inside, all alone.

Her eyes trailed over to the small desk by the bedside, where a familiar turquoise orb was placed.

She looked back at the letter, reading the next line.

" _Use your magic to make us feel connected,"_ it said _._

Meredy did not need to think about it any further as she created the seal of Maguilty Sense on her wrist. As soon as it appeared, Meredy tentatively reached out her hand towards the orb. The orb felt cold, as if enveloped in a thin shroud of ice, reminiscent of Ultear's own elemental magic.

The moment she touched the orb, the glow on her Sensory Link intensified. She took a step back as the orb illuminated, basking the house in immense light. All in the room shielded their eyes with the blinding sight, excluding Meredy who was unfazed, instead focusing her eyes on the figure materializing from the orb.

A figure all too familiar to her.

From the orb, a woman with long, dark tresses donning a white gown emerged.

"My friends," she said in the voice that Meredy knew too well, "thank you for coming."

Finally, she had the chance to say the name of the person she longed to see in front of her. "Ultear..."

Her skin looked like shining porcelain, the way the orb irradiated her presence. "Yes Meredy, it is me."

"Wait," Gray interjected, stepping closer slightly behind Meredy, "The villager said...you are dead, so how...?"

Her smile never left her face. "Indeed, I am. However, I was able to seal a part of me using the miniscule magic left in my body, inside the orb," she said, motioning towards her favorite battle item, "It can only be activated through the use of connecting magic, such as Maguilty Sense. Think of me perhaps as a memory projection which travelled in the future, yet my time here is unfortunately limited."

"Ultear." Meredy took another step closer to her, reaching out her arm. She was longing to hug her, longing her motherly embrace, yet she brought her arm down, her hands forming into a trembling fist. "Why? Why did you leave us?" Her voice sounded betrayed. "Didn't you say that we will continue our adventures together, fight the darkness until the end? That after everything is over, you will live with me? So why..."

"Because it had to be done, during that time." Ultear did not move from her spot, yet her gaze had softened. "To be honest, after the dragon invasion, in my life as a simple, old woman, I realized that I really wanted to see the fulfilment of our dreams until the very end. However, there is also the realization that some things are not meant to be, that we cannot always get what we want, no matter what circumstances we do, no matter how powerful the magic."

Meredy shook her head hysterically. "But why?! Why must it be you, of all people?!" Meredy breathed out heavily after the outburst, trying to stop her tears from falling. "Life is so unfair..."

"Meredy, such is life," Ultear replied calmly, as she moved from her spot towards the pinkette, "However, this is a choice that I do not regret making."

The Maguilty mage lifted her hand to touch Ultear, yet her hand simply phased through her like a hologram. "But without you or Jellal... All that's left in Crime Sorciére is me! Compared to the two of you, I am nothing..."

For a brief moment Ultear looked shocked before her eyes shone with understanding. "That is where you are mistaken, Meredy, You were the one who brought Crime Sorciére to light."

Her eyes widened with the revelation. "What do you mean?"

As Ultear began to open her mouth to speak, Meredy fathomed that a part of her arm was beginning to fade away. The time mage did not fail to notice it either.

"I'm afraid...that my time is up."

Meredy wanted to deny what she was seeing. Why does it have to be so soon?

"Meredy." Ultear brought her hand seemingly to touch her face. The air felt cold, yet not unwelcomed. "Since I'm already gone, I leave the ideals of Crime Sorciére to you. Believe in yourself, because if it wasn't for you, Crime Sorciére would not have existed."

Meredy still felt confused, yet somehow, her words gave her the strength she needed.

Only a half of Ultear's body remained, as if she was floating in midair. "I may not be there, but I know you, Meredy. You can do it."

Her words meant a lot for her. With it, Meredy nodded, wiping her watery eyes. Behind her, Gray, stepped forward and blurted out what she knew he wanted to tell her before, "Ultear. Thank you."

"It makes me ultimately glad to see you all well." Ultear gave him a warm smile in return, looking at all of them one-by-one, before completely drifting away. "Farewell and take care, my friends."

As her figure vanquished into thin air, the glow from the orb faded, the light losing its brilliance by the second. As soon as it returned to its original color, a small crack formed from it which detached a small piece of the radiant crystal onto the desk.

Meredy paid no heed to it as she approached the orb, and with quiet sobs, embraced it as if her life depended on it. Finally, the tears escaped from her eyes, cascading down her pale face.

She didn't know how long she stayed like that, until Juvia snapped her out of her reverie with a gentle touch on her shoulder. She urged her to look at what Gray was holding; it was the letter with instructions, where Ultear also mentioned her last goodbyes. She reminded them to go on with life and continue the fight against the darkness in the world.

Lastly, her final wish was to have the remains of her time orb be tossed into the ocean, so that she could finally reunite with her mother in peace. Meredy did the honors, as she dropped Ultear's memento from the cliff, plunging it into the ocean. Meredy was still crying as she sat nearby the cliff afterwards, staring at the vast water paradise.

"Please, leave me alone for a while," Meredy mumbled in request. Her eyes were red, cheeks flushed, yet she tried bringing the corners of her lips upwards.

They complied and gave her some time alone, allowing her to grieve for the loss of her family. While Gray and Juvia looked for lodgings to stay for the night, Lyon kept an eye on her from afar. She did not move from her spot even as the sun descended down the horizon.

When the fairy wizards returned, Lyon stood and walked towards her, telling her that it's time she rested. She wordlessly obeyed.

None of them spoke as they entered their rented lodgings, with the girls and boys separating their ways from the rooms parallel to one another. Juvia guided the sullen Meredy inside their quarters, and she noticed the worried look on Lyon's face. The water mage smiled weakly and nodded, silently assuring him that she had things covered.

As soon as she entered, the Maguilty mage immediately collapsed by the bedside, bawling her eyes out. The water mage approached her and hugged her from behind. Meredy responded by turning her body around and returning the embrace, crying even more.

"It will be okay," the water mage comforted, embracing her friend as tears began falling from her eyes too, "It will be okay..."

Soon fatigue took over her, and she cried herself to sleep.

By the time Meredy woke up, she was already lying on the bed with a blanket over her body. Though her eyes felt puffy from crying the previous night, it was one of the rare moments when her heart no longer felt as heavy as before. For once, she also had a dreamless slumber.

It was dark inside the room, but she was able to sense the sleeping figure on the other bed.

 _"Juvia,"_ Meredy whispered. She must've carried her there. Silently, she gave her thanks, as she left the room as quiet as possible so as not to disturb her friend's slumber.

Gray and Juvia checked in on a place by the beach. The sun was not rising yet but it was not exactly dark either, the skies painted pale blue in the early morning.

On the way to the shore she had doffed her footwear, feeling the cool, rough sensations of the sands on her feet. She also brought her ear mufflers down her neck, allowing the calming sounds of the sea waves enter her ears. For her auditory senses, they were always a welcomed feeling. She donned them back on.

As soon as she was closer the waters, she fathomed that she was not alone.

Within her line of vision was the back of the person with those familiar silver locks, sitting by the shore.

He seemed to have sensed her presence as he began speaking. "It's not a crime to rest, you know."

"I could say the same thing to you," she automatically replied, recalling the familiarity of their exchange. She let out a soundless giggle.

He watched as she lithely sat on a spot beside him. He turned his head back to the ocean before he spoke the next words, as if avoiding eye contact. "It's...really hard to fall asleep if you're thinking too much about somebody, whether she's feeling alright or not."

When Meredy only gave him a curious look, Lyon started shaking his head, and then finally faced her with a chuckle.

"I was pertaining to you."

Her eyes widened, feeling her cheeks lit up with heat, quite the opposite of the cool morning breeze brushing against her exposed arms. She paused a bit before responding, "I'm sorry for worrying you."

He shook his head again. "You shouldn't. If someone should be apologizing, it's me. I...was the one who brought you here, causing you the pain. If only I was able to inform you days earlier—"

She immediately clasp her hand tightly around his hand staying idly by the sands, halting his outburst. "Stop it, you dummy. You shouldn't be sorry, either. You even went out of your way just to look for me, just so I could see her again. If you didn't, then I would not have even known that Ultear stayed here, with her memories left in her cabin." Her grip finally softened around his. "For that, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, once again."

It was Lyon's turn to be speechless. "I-I... Yeah..."

Meredy smiled at him warmly, lifting her hand from atop his. She did not notice the slight twitch of his hand when it lost contact with hers.

None of them spoke for the next few moments, only the rhythmic sounds of the dancing waves resounding through the beach. It was a comfortable silence.

"Oh yes, I almost forgot," Lyon said as he fumbled his hand inside one of his pockets, "I have something to give to you."

As soon as he had brought it out, Lyon extended his arm in front of her. He opened his hand.

It was a thin piece of a crystal with a string through it. It had the same teal color of Ultear's orb.

Meredy took hold of it, gaping at the necklace with wonder and surprise.

Lyon scratched the back of his neck. "I'm not sure if you noticed it, but after Ultear vanished yesterday, I saw this tiny chip of crystal detach itself from her orb. I couldn't find a better chain for a necklace, so I hope this piece of string would suffice for now."

"No, Lyon. This is already perfect." Her eyes began to glimmer again with tears. "Thank you... I don't know what else to say...but thank you."

He observed her place the necklace over her head, down to her neck. She smiled contentedly as she held the jewel around her finger tips, gazing at the ocean once again.

She did not know that seeing her lifted spirits was a "thank you" more than enough for him.

"You know, now that I think about it, it shouldn't be surprising to see Ultear staying at this place," Meredy said.

Lyon gave a small nod. "Yeah, until the end, at least she can be together with Ur."

"Yeah..."

The skies were starting to brighten, the sun beginning to rise from the horizon.

"You know, yesterday, I realized," Meredy uttered, eyes set on the clear waters, "I was never really angry with Ultear. It was anger misdirected towards her, when I was really frustrated with life in general. But as she said, life is not easy, and we cannot always attain what we want, no matter what we do. It all matters on the choices we make, and whether we regret it or not." From the jewel, her hand made its way down the sands, lightly touching the side of Lyon's hand. "I am content knowing that Ultear did not regret her choice."

When she turned her head towards him, she learned that he had been looking at her ever since. The feeling of flares in her face went back, yet she continued speaking.

"I also realized that starting today, I will no longer run away. I will continue our fight, not only for Crime Sorciére, but also for myself," she finished with determination.

The corners of Lyon's lips curved up proudly. "So, am I correct in saying that you finally found the answers to your questions?"

Meredy replied with a nod. "Yes, but to be honest, I have doubts whether I'd succeed, but I want to believe I can."

"Doubts are inevitable," he responded, "because no one really knows what's in store for us in the future."

"Have you ever made a decision that you did not regret, Lyon?" she asked with curiosity.

Lyon blinked at her for several times at first, but after grasping that she was actually serious with her question, he exhaled deeply, and finally responded with a smile. "Yes, I have."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but it's only recently though, that I learned that I do not regret my choice."

Meredy was quiet, but her eyes clearly showed that she was intent in listening.

"Let's see… It happened on that day, when I was on a solo mission for a client whose name I did not know. I had doubts, but I went, anyway. On my way for the mission, I saw an enormous explosion, which I knew was completely unrelated to my job. I was on the edge; I admit I had doubts whether I should intervene or not. I had the choice of ignoring it. Yet I went, anyway."

The tides of the waves increased, splashing their bare feet with salt water, yet both were completely submerged in their conversation.

"Despite all these doubts, however, I have realized, that I do not regret all of my decisions back then."

Another splash. Their feet were starting to sink in the drenched, sloppy sands.

"Because it was through them that I met you," he completed.

She gaped in shock with his words, its meaning slowly sinking in. She found herself mesmerized with his irises, which she only learned were deep onyx. She thought they were beautiful.

Were they really _this_ close earlier?

Her eyes trailed down to his lips, and briefly, even though it happened by unavoidable circumstances, she tried to recall how it felt when they kissed the first time.

His eyes never left hers, and their noses began brushing against each other. Meredy was uncertain her heart had ever pounded so fast in her whole life. She shut her eyes as she felt his cool breath brush against her lips.

Before their lips met however, the cold crash of the ocean waves interrupted them, completely drenching their whole bodies with sea water. They subsequently jumped their heads back in surprise.

They blinked at each other, and at the ocean.

Realizing their intimacy prior the disruption, Meredy's face completely felt feverish in embarrassment.

" _Were you watching us, Ultear?"_ she voiced in her mind, but remembered that Ur was also one with the ocean. Meredy covered her extremely flushed face with her hands.

Looks like they both had the mother _and_ daughter as witnesses of their moment.

Suddenly, Lyon let out a hearty laughter, surprising Meredy.

She peeked out from her covered face and looked at him incredulously.

She wanted to ask him why he was laughing, but decided against it out of discomfiture still. She looked back at the body of water in front of them, and Meredy recognized that he must have come up with the same conclusion as her to their predicament.

Lyon was still laughing.

Perhaps she did not notice it before, or maybe Lyon was just scowling most of the time, but she found herself staring in awe at the image of him entirely brightened with glee and laughter.

With his usually spiky hair dripping downwards.

Somehow, she no longer wondered why many women fell head over heels for him.

He momentarily took notice of her silence, gazing questioning at her awestruck face. Eventually, she found herself clutching a hand towards her mouth, as if to suppress her giggles; yet it was futile as she began to laugh alongside him too.

"Why are you laughing?"

"Well, why are _you_ laughing?"

As they continued drowning themselves in their own merriment, Meredy started throwing sand at him, which Lyon responded to by throwing another back.

Above them, the sun continued its ascent, signifying a new day, a new beginning and a new hope.


End file.
